《Eternal Kingdom : A Gift From A Loving Brother in A VRMMO World》 Chapter 1 - Prologue (1) Year 20xx The world was going under massive changes, with the addition of technological advancements in every field of occupation. Especially in the fields of virtual reality. The Dive System that lets you experience the wonderful fantasy with your own eyes. Want to go to the moon? Sure! Fishing on the Arctic? You got it! Or even take a dump on the Himalayas, and becomes a superhero on the next day? We''ll get you covered! The rapid progress also happens in the gaming industries. New games were produced every year with the dive technologies, giving the players one to one experience being on that world, moving your body was as easy as...How you move your body! It''s just that easy! So why not try one right now! Emperor''s Destiny! Where wars, blood, and tears shall guide you onto the path of becoming a Supreme Ruler! New expansion coming out soon! "Lillie, dinners ready! And turn off the tv please." "Yes, big brother!" Click ---- A medium-sized mansion stand''s among the urban houses, surrounded by trees and mountains on the back. The house was two stories high with a minimalistic design, on the first floor there was a garage, two bedrooms, a lounge, and a kitchen on the back connected to the garden behind. The second''s floor was more like a personal gym, where various types of gym equipment filled the place. The walls were white in colors and the floors were marble, added with simple modern furniture, making the place comfortable to look at and also complimented the minimalistic looks. A man in his twenties and a girl that looks like on his teens can be seen in the kitchen. The man was quite tall among its peers, his complexion was a little pale, complimented with his handsome looks and his sharp eyebrows to complete his masculine looks. His hair was short and brown in color and his body was quite well-built with his broad shoulders. The girl, on the other hand, was so pretty that she looked like an angel. Her pale skin and her small round face, completed with her jade eyes that twinkled like a star. Her long hair black hair, with a cute bunny clip to cover her bangs. "What''s for dinner?" "Your favorite, seafood fried rice." "Yay!" The two lived alone in that mansion, but, this wasn''t the case until eight years ago, where the parent''s of the siblings were involved in a major plane accident. Leaving the two in their state right now, with the man being eighteen years old at that time and the girl was nine. The families were filled with sadness on the day of their funeral, especially the girl, she bawled her tears off on the coffin of their parents, while the man gripped tight on her sister''s hands trying to stay brave and hold his tears as much as he can. One misfortune after another. Just a month after the funeral, the girl was diagnosed with cancer on her spinal cords. The siblings were shocked by the findings with the aftermath that the girl was paralyzed from waist to bottom and must go under treatments every month. The man was on the verge of breakdowns. He didn''t have it easy either after their parents passed away. He ended up inheriting his father business and was frowned upon by the stakeholders and the board of directors. A boy that hasn''t reached adulthood wasn''t fit to hold a company they said. He was lucky to inherit his father fortune they said. What will you do when you hold the company they said. All of these words were coming to his ears, making him furious on the inside, but, he just gritted his teeth and squeezed his hands hard even when his nails pierced his skin. He remembered that he got a little sister to take care of and his jade eyes gleamed with determination. Eight years after, as you can see, the two siblings were still with each other, living their happy life. Depending on each other, even when the world collapses. The business that the man inherited bloomed into a multi-billion company with a branch all over the world. He was featured on fortune as the youngest most successful CEO, while the girl was at the last stage of recovery from her disease. Their hard work and determination were paid off in the end. Nowadays, the girl was obsessed with gaming, especially virtual reality. At first, she only saw it on the tv commercial, and her eyes sparkled by the sight, but knowing that her brother already sacrificed enough, she can''t bear her conscience to ask for it. Unknowingly on her sixtieth birthday, her brother bought the dive technology capsules for her instead. She was elated by the gift and played it all night. She was flying in the sky, riding horses into the stars, but one thing that got her tears rolled onto her cheeks, as she experiences walking on the virtual world, something that she can''t do in the real world. Her brother watched her all night playing the virtual game, his face was plastered with a warm smile, a sight only a lucky few can see. She also played the hottest game in the world that was called Emperor''s Destiny, along with the other one million active players. The game was a sandbox fantasy game set in the kingdoms and wars era, filled with various other races, quests, dungeons, and even raids. You can be an adventurer going on a journey around its world, or be a bard at a local tavern, or even be an artist hired by royalties. The possibilities in that world were endless, but, that''s not the hottest appeal of the game. it''s hottest appeal was that you can own a territory on your own and build anything you want on that territories. With its benefits there must be a consequence, the occupied territories also can be raided by other people that owned their own territories to expand its border, added with monsters outbreak, seasonal changes, natural disasters, and that would make owning a territory a challenge on itself. She played it all day to relieve her boredom because her brother was busy with his work. Her progress on that game was incredible, achieving unimaginable feats on her own, her characters also were one of the few that hit level five hundred just after five months of its open beta states, and often was called the goddess of victory. This was because all the raids that she goes into were completed in a matter of days, unlike others who took weeks or even months to finish a single raid. She was the epitome of a female gamer, she was revered and loved by many, but, although she was famous, at the same time she was lonely.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. All she wanted was for her brother to play together with her, going on a journey together, killing monsters, leveling up, killing stronger monsters, leveling up, killing even stronger monsters, leveling up, and also building a kingdom that only belongs to them. The two, on top of their kingdoms, while looking proudly at the mortals below, and this, was her dream. So in preparation for that dream of her, she started by making a second account for her brother use. She always mails the best in slot equipment for each level to her brother accounts, starting with various armors be it leathers or plate, various weapons, trinkets, and even accessories, to suit every class that her brother choose. With all of that equipment, she hopes that her brother would quickly arrive at her level without any worries except for level. She also paid a certain amount with her saved allowance to the game company to make the expiring date on the mailbox of her brother account deleted. Of course, the game company wasn''t supposed to do that, but considering her social status and that her request was not game breaking, the company agreed to her request the one and the only exception. ---- Back to the kitchen, the two were chatting around at modern oak table that filled with foods and drinks. The two were chatting peacefully and laughing at each other jokes and funny stories. The situation was heartwarming to look at. "Big brother, I''ve won a gift for you!" "You won a gift?" "Yes! I''ve won-" Ring Ring "Ah, I''m sorry Lillie! Let me answer this first." "Uh-huh..." The man took out a phone from his pants pocket and walked away from the kitchen, leaving the girl alone. He arrived at the lounge and finally answered his phone. "I told you not to call me when I''m dining with Lillie! *Sigh* What is it?" "I know, but, but, this is urgent!!" "Tell me, what is it and I''ll help if I can." "GREAT! It''s like this right. I need your input on my date tonight and you''re the hottest guy on South Korea right now. Sooo...Pleaseeeee...Help a friend out will you Mr. Yuri Adams!" "NO!" teeeeeeeeet~ Yuri Adams was the name of the man, he was twenty-six years old on July this year, his sister name was Lillie Adams and just got seventeen years old September this year, while the man on the phone was his closest friend and also his associate at his multi-billion company, his name was Felix Farley a playboy and a miser, according to Yuri himself. He and his sister just recently moved to South Korea two years ago and decided to settle in Pyeongchang-dong near Seoul. He wanted to provide a change of scenery for his sister, after living in a bustling city of New York in America for almost the entirety of her life. Just a month after they decided to live in South Korea, articles and news about their arrivals spread like wildfire, becoming a hot topic even rivaling those articles about idols and the A-List artists. Overnight he became number one man you wanted to marry on South Korea, and her sister was praised for her beauty becoming a dream girl for the boys out there. After the news breakout, Yuri founded out that Felix also moved to South Korea following in his footsteps. At first, he was just visiting them in their new housing, but he felled in love with the city and the culture of it according to him that is, but Yuri already knew what''s in those dirty minds of Felix, after spending nearly a decade of friendship and partnership, the reason that he moved to South Korea was the woman, not in a sexual way but more in an appreciative one, he loved woman as much as he loved his money, and with that reason he bought a house near the Hangang River and settled in there. ---- Yuri finished with his phone calls returned to the kitchen, he saw his sister was still there munching on his food with a smile on her face. It brought a smile to his stern yet handsome face, she was the sole reason he could survive and be as successful as right now, without her maybe he would break down at any moment and lost his motivation to live, but now, seeing her face filled with smile, brought joy to his monotonous life. "That was fast?" "Yeah, it''s just Felix and his problems. Not going to bother with it." She broke out a giggle, "Big brother Felix is playboy after all." "I don''t know what to do anymore with that man. Listen, Lillie, don''t date a man like Felix understand! You need someone like me! At least that''s the criteria I want for my In-laws." "Pssh...That''s just as hard as finding someone like big brother Felix. You know that right?" "I don''t care, at least find someone decent. Oh! and what''s that you want to talk about?" "OH! I almost forgot about that, I won the grand prize in a tournament in Emperor''s Destiny." "Wow! Congratulations about that, but still I don''t know what you''re talking about..." "Hmph...I asked you to play it with me every time and you just said later, uh yeah later, I''m busy later, and so on so forth." She pouted her lips. "Ahahaa....I''m sorry about that, next month. I''ll play it next month, I promise." "You promised don''t break your words! We will build a big kingdom you and I. Hehe." "Yeah. Promise." ---- Wee Woo Wee Woo The sounds of an ambulance siren echoed through the serene neighboorhood that night. The mansion fronts were lit by the colors of blue and red. In there a couple of paramedics and the master of the house Yuri can be seen, panic filled in his eyes. He was holding his sister''s hand that was lying down on the stretcher. It''s going be okay he thought again and again in his head as if chanting a spell. His sister was unconscious and was fitted with an oxygen mask on her face, her pale face looked so frail that it can crumble in any second. "Sir, It''s going to be alright." The paramedics said to calm Yuri minds, with his Korean language. Yuri just nodded, given his occupation, he already mastered several languages and one of them was Korean. The stretcher moved to the ambulance back, with Yuri following after. He gripped tight on his beloved sister''s hands, he prays and prays to ask for his sister safety. Tears were formed on his eyes, it flowed through his cheeks and landed to his sister''s hands that he was grabbing. The journey to the hospital was so excruciating and painful for him. Finally arrived at the hospital, the emergency room lit up at their arrivals. The paramedics moved quickly and navigated through the hospital alleyway smoothly towards the ICU. The door opened and there were doctors and nurses ready and standby at their positions. "Sir. You can''t come inside, please wait outside, trust us, the doctors and nurses in here were experienced and skilled on their fields." Yuri with his puffy eyes just nodded helplessly and sat on the bench in front of the door. He buried his head with his hand. Tears were flowing incessantly, his minds were in chaos. Jumbled with a thought that he could lose his little sister. Just two weeks ago they were talking and smiling, making promises with each other, but now, he only felt fear and despair. "What happened? Yuri! YURI!" Just after five minutes of their arrivals in the hospital, Felix arrived. He saw that Yuri sat on the bench drenched in tears. He approached him and shook him waiting for a response, but Yuri just sat there still burying his head and drenched himself in tears. "I know it''s hard but please tell me what happens!" Felix asked worriedly. Yuri sobbed, "I-I-I''m...Afraid...Losing her..." Felix, can''t hold his tears and punched the walls behind him. He felt useless and hopeless at the same time. Lillie was like his own little sister, he watched her grows just like Yuri did, he chased away the boys that tried to hit on her, he also showered her with gifts and valuables. She was also the apple of his eye and looking at her brother in this conditions, he despised himself for not being here sooner. Tears flowed to his cheeks and his mind worked hard trying to find the right words in this situation. In the end, he just muttered the same words as Yuri did. "I-It''s going to be fine! Lillie is going to be fine! She''s a strong girl after all." Chapter 2 - Prologue (2) The more he waited, the more suffocated he felt. It''s like that someone was holding and gripping his heart tight. Every minute felt like hours and every hour felt like years. Crazy thoughts appeared one after another, and he felt his body cold and shivered by it. If there is a god or a lord out there please save my sister, take mine instead, she suffered enough pain already, just take mine, please, I beg of you, please save my sister, as his tears fell to the ground. Six hours passed in that silent hallway and chilling cold crawled through the place. Suddenly, the ICU light finally came off and the door was opened. Yuri was sensitive to any sound at the moment, and when he heard the door opened, he turned his head. He saw a doctor came out and he stared at him with his puffed eyes, trying to figure out his expression inside those white masks. "Mr. Yuri?" "Yes! What''s the results doctor!" His voice sounded gruff. "The results were great Mr. Yuri. Her condition is now stabilized, but unfortunately, she''s now in a coma because of the shock in her spinal cord." Yuri was stunned by the revelation, his jumbled mind tried hard to process the information, seconds passed, he took a deep breath and asked, "What''s the cause doctor?" "It''s her disease Mr. Yuri. Her disease flared up. Although she''s in the last process of her recovery, the piled up stress from going through countless treatments were the real reason that she''s in this state right now." "B-But she''s never said anything about that, doctor. Whenever I asked her about her treatments she always said that it was fine..." "It''s understandable Mr. Yuri, she just didn''t want you to worry." "And for how long she will be in a coma doctor?" "After our diagnosis and careful examinations, we estimated that her comatose state will be up for at least eight to nine hours, and chances of her good recovery were quite high, so expect a good news tomorrow Mr. Yuri." Yuri sighed a relief, and said, "Yes, thank you, doctor, and can I meet her?" "I''m very sorry about this but you can''t meet her yet Mr. Yuri. We still need to apply more medical procedures to appease her state. If you don''t have any more question left, I will take my leave first Mr. Yuri." "Ah! Yes! Thank you, doctor, please take care of Lillie for me." "I will Mr. Yuri, have a good night Mr. Yuri." "Yes. You too doctor." Yuri sighed a relief once more and dropped his exhausted body near Felix. At least she''s fine he thought in his mind. He turned his head and saw that Felix still have his head hung low, he understands his best friend feelings and grabbed him by the shoulders. "She''s fine." "Uh-huh...Huh? She''s fine? SHE''S FINE! HAHAHA!" "Calm down, Its a hospital for god sake." A smile was plastered over his face, he watched Felix celebration and for some reason, he felt warmth in his heart. The night passed and replaced by the warm sunlight. Yuri and Felix were asleep across each other claiming two whole benches for themselves just outside the ICU. The sight was not the ideal sight for a CEO and his associate, even when people saw them nobody would think that a billionaire would sleep in cold metal benches. Sounds of a broom swept through the floor woke Yuri up. His hair was a mess and his eyes were puffed by the tears he shed that night. He looked around his surroundings and saw Felix sleeping like a log in the bench across him. He gathered his thoughts and tried to process it, one deep breath after another, released by a sigh of relief after. I need to find out Lillie conditions now. "Wake up! Wake up, Felix!" Still half asleep, Felix saw Yuri standing in front of him, and said, "Good...Morning..." "Just wake up already, we need to find out about Lillie." "Uh...HUH! Yeah! Let''s go!" The two navigated through the hospital hallways trying to find the reception desk. The hospital was all the same everywhere, the same white walls, the same white tiles, and the same white lighting as if the place was not depressing enough. The two arrived at the reception desk, greeted by two nurses that on standby. Yuri filled up his information and inquired about her sister condition and possibly her location. He saw the two nurses were shocked by his identity after he filled his information because at first glance he was nowhere near the image of a billionaire. One of the nurses gave Yuri the details about her sister conditions and told him that she was getting better and can wake up at any minutes now. He was elated by the findings and asked enthusiastically about her location, which is located on the fourth floor, VIP Room number 3. He can''t thank her enough for that so he bowed his head ninety degrees sharp at the nurses, while the nurses were flustered by the CEO actions, and told him that it was their job. Yuri and Felix said their goodbye towards the two nurses and be on their ways towards the fourth floor. After the short encounter, the nurses were gossipping with each other, they praised Yuri and Felix and dreamed if someday they would meet or even marry someone of their caliber. Yuri heard a little about the two nurses conversations and just decided to shook his head, while Felix, on the other hand, was grinning from ear to ear hearing that. On the fourth floor, the two walked a little until they finally found Lillie room. Yuri took a deep breath to calm his mind before grabbing the door handle. He opened the door slowly, while his minds were bombarded with thoughts one after another. He saw in the room decorated with white wallpapers and brown carpeted floor, her sister was lying down on the beds, her little face was slowly regaining its color. Yuri followed by Felix walked closer to her. He was choked by the sight, and regret filled his eye. If only I have known sooner, maybe this will not happen, were the only words in his minds.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. He grabbed his sister pale hands, trying to warm her up, while Felix decided to give the sibling''s some time alone and walked outside the room. Just the two of them alone in the room, it was silent and serene at the same time. "I''m sorry...I''m sorry that I have let you down and neglected you in my duties...I''m sorry..." Yuri buried his head within Lillie pale hands. His mumble was his heartfelt feelings towards her, no matter what will happen to him, her sister was his number one priorities. One memory flashed after another, he remembered her smile when she was sixteen receiving his gift at her birthday, he remembered the time when they were laughing at Felix when he was dumped, again and again, he also remembered when she cried watching bad movies being bad. "Please...Don''t leave me alone..." ----- ---- --- -- - A twitch, Yuri felt a sensation on his hand. The fingers on Lillie''s hands moved a little as if responding to her brother''s plea. Yuri was startled, he turned his head to look at Lillie''s face, tears have flowed down to her cheeks. The sound''s of her cries filled up the room, she let go all of her emotions into her tears. He saw her sister sobbed and hugged her tightly, his tears can''t hold any longer and drop to her sister''s clothes. "I''m-I''m sorry...I will never leave..." For two minutes they embraced each other as if the other''s would be gone if they let go. Yuri was the first to let go of his embrace, he wiped the tears on her sister''s face and smiled after. He was glad and thankful at the same time, he also saw Felix standing behind the door peeking inside when they embraced earlier. Yuri finally saw her sister smile after he wiped her tears. He etched this memory deep into his heart. Not long after, the doctors and the nurses arrived at the room. They checked up Lillie once more to confirm she had a good recovery from her coma. Yuri just watched silently on the side, his face was serious observing all the procedures. Anticipation filled his thought. Minutes passed, he saw the doctor and the nurses finished with their check-ups. The doctor walked to him and asked to speak in private. Yuri complied and followed the doctor just outside the VIP Room. "What''s the results doctor?" "Mr. Yuri, her condition is fine, perfect rather, but, the effects of her treatments from all those years is now at its critical stages. I suggest to let Ms. Lillie stay at the hospital accompanied by our nurses to further complete her recuperation process." "And, how long will that be doctor?" "Approximately three months for treatments and another one months for recuperation, but don''t worry Mr. Yuri, she will be handled with the best doctor and nurses here in our hospital." After some time of consideration, Yuri answered, "...Okay. I agree, doctor. Anything for her sake." The doctor nodded and said, "You''re a good brother Mr. Yuri. I will tell her the situation then." "No, doctor, let me tell her that." Once more he took a deep breath, he composed the words he''s about to say in his minds. He entered the room once more and greeted with the sound of laughter, in there he saw his sister were smiling and laughing provided by the stories Felix made. Finally, he can put a smile on his face and approached her. Yuri grabbed his fragile sister''s hands, he rubbed it gently while looking deep into her eyes. This is for your sake Lillie, this was the line he supposed to say and that same words still lingered around his mind. He tried to speak but nothing came out. "What is it?" Lillie asked. He let out an awkward smile and in his mind was a battlefield. How can he tell her sister that just woken up another bad news, but, he was determined if it was for her sake of living the normal life, whatever the sacrifice he will comply and fulfill it the best as he can. He gathered his courage and said, "Lillie, I know it''s a hard decision, but, it is for your sake. To complete your recovery you need to stay in the hospital for at least three months...And...I already agreed to that, and I hope you understand my decisions." "B-but...Okay..." Her head hung low, she tried to accept the situation but from her voice, a hidden sadness contained within. Yuri rubbed her head gently and tried to console her, he also felt the pain in his heart like it has been stabbed by a countless knife, knowing the fact that he will see her less than the usual. "Don''t be sad Lillie, it''s not like you won''t see me even you''re at the hospital. I can still visit you remember." He said with a smile. "Every day...Promise me you visit every day..." She mumbled. "Promise! And also, if you fully concentrate on your recovery and treatments, I will give you your most desired gift." Her jade eyes sparkled and said, "A gift? Then I want a beautiful kingdom built by your own hand! If you''re cheating I''m gonna marry big brother Felix!" Felix that was just standing peacefully shocked by the statements Lillie gave and his back turned cold. He can''t move his head even if he wanted to, this was because the cold murderous glare Yuri emitted. You''re dead if you move or talk a single sentence that kinds of feels. Finished with his death glare, Yuri asked, "Uh....Real life or in the game?" "Game, of course, you can''t build a kingdom in a cramped real world." She answered playfully. "You''re right...Okay, promise!" Yuri and his sister made a promise once more, sealed by both of their pinky fingers. ---- The new day arrived replacing the hectic yesterday. The day is Sunday, in the month of October and their house was now missing a person leaving only Yuri on his own. The first thing he does was to exercise his body on the gym upstairs, just enough to warm up his body. He also didn''t forget to visit her sister this morning, to check up on her and also give her energy for her treatments. Done with his daily routine, he sat alone on the couch in their house. He daydreamed for about ten minutes until he remembered his other promise. He walked to his bedroom, nothing fancy in there, it''s just like any normal room with a king sized bed, a tv, and a closet, except for a capsule-like object in the edge of his room. This was the device to access the dive system. Yuri approached the dive capsule, and examined it, the device was silver in color and designed just like a capsule bed like the one in a capsule hotel in Japan. Several buttons that say on and off and a hole that fits a card can be found on the side. The device also included with a headpiece that looked like a helmet, intended to process brain input of the user. Yuri figured out the mechanism of the device and turned it on, and inserted the card that he got from his sister. This card was actually a game card issued by the game company, without it, you can''t access the game no matter what, and also make the dive capsule a bit useless on its own. He entered it and tried to be as comfortable as he can, and finally, put on the headpiece. Tring Tring Tring The opening song comes out with its opening trailer for the game. It lasted for several seconds until he arrived at the title screen. One text after another came out in front of his eyes.
Avatar''s Found
Enter Emperor''s Dynasty
Yes No
Yuri took a breath and said yes in his mind. Woosh The screen changes again, replaced by vast plains, mountains, and a town in a distance, with the occasional monsters roar, can also be heard from where he stands. He can''t believe his eyes, is this real? he thought, just like his eyes he also can''t believe that he felt the winds brushed part his hair, and that sensation was as real as he can get just like the real world. Chapter 3 - Starting Zone Yuri was dazed by another reality in front of him, but his body feels weird. Like the body was not the same body he had in the real world. He turned his head to see his hands, but his hands were feminine and looked like a girl''s hand, this certainly felt weird he thought in his mind, next, he grabbed his head, his hair was long and his head was small, and that was even weirder, he grabbed his chest and stopped. His heart was racing like a formula car. "This...This...Is this the body of a woman..." His voice filled with panic and cold sweat appeared on his back. No! maybe there''s an avatar appearance changer somewhere in the menu he said in his mind, but first, he needs to find where the damn menu is. He looked everywhere around his eye, where usually the interface are located, but in there, on the right corner of his eyes, he only found his status bar which are hp and mp. He thought of different ideas, maybe the hand gesture would work, he said in his minds. Thanks to her sister, he knew several gestures from his experience watching various anime and movies with her, starting with the hand seal style gesture, spooderman style gesture, and even the wuxia sword-finger style gesture, but still, there is no response from the system. As the last resort, he tried the sword fine art offline style gesture, where he swiped his finger downwards to open the menu. Tring! The sounds reverberated in his ears, and in front of his eyes the menu interface came out. His eyes glimmered in excitement. Although on the outside he was a stern and hard-working young man, he was a gamer at heart just before his parent''s passed away. Every day he played the famous MMORPG from the past, World in Warbuilt, in there he made many friends from the noobs or even the trolls, he even go on raids with his guild and bragged about his DPS meter, sadly that was in the past, but, after experiencing this VRMMORPG his inner childhood was once more sparkled. Please let there be an item mall! He begged in his minds. The menu was slick and had a minimalistic design to it, in there he found several lists of options, from top to bottom the lists are, avatar info, skills, inventory, reputation, guild, mailbox, system configuration, and log out. It was a standard menu for an MMORPG game, but the thing that he was looking for was nowhere to be found. He racked his brains and decided to check out the system configuration first, hoping maybe he found a manual for the game there. His eyes gleamed, there is a manual added in there. The manual was fifty pages long, and he thought who in the world would have the time to read all of this instead of playing the game itself, maybe that is why the manual was snuck in there instead of the menu itself. The manual included all the backstories for the game, even the detailed information for each of the playable races in there and there are thirty-two of them, no wonder the pages are so thick and long. Yuri skipped all of that, knowing that it wouldn''t be that useful anyway and searched for the pages that informed about avatar creations. Barely reached the last three pages finally he found the information he was looking for. Emperor''s Destiny avatar creations were intended to bring the full experience by scanning the user body so the user wouldn''t feel weird like Yuri right now, it will also scan the user gender, so there will be no traps around its user base, if you''re a female then you''re a female, if you''re a male then you''re a male, and if you''re a neutral then...Anyway, the system was nowhere near perfect, so they provided the avatar customizations through its vast selection of races. After the user finalized the avatar customizations, the system then will transport the user to the vast plains near the starting town, this is called the starting zone, filled with low levels monsters for training purposes. There are also special cases which, if the user didn''t like their avatar customizations they can change it with the items called [Narcissus Blessing''s], the item name itself is self-explanatory. This item was a rare commodity among the player''s, only obtainable from certain raid bosses or special monsters, and would fetch a quite high price among Emperor''s Destiny player. [Narcissus''s Blessings] Yuri muttered this item name in his mind. He just started playing this game and nowhere near as rich as he was like the real world. He shook his head, maybe this is his fate, although he felt weird, he can only accept the reality in front of him. Even though he can buy the items from another person with real money, it''s just against his gaming conscience, he was one of those elitist gamers that thought everything in the game should always be bought with the currencies in the game not the other way around like those whales for examples. And also he was against companies that sell power through their item malls, like boosters and stuff, the only exception for this was cosmetics which he thought was fair. After done reading the manual he closed it and sent back to the menu, from there he decided to check out the avatar info. ===
Avatar Info
Name Race Gender
Brother''s Alt Human Female
Professions Alignments Reputation
Neutral None 0
Avatar Level : 1
Health 150 Mana 100
Strength 10 Stamina 11
Agility 10 Dexterity 10
Wisdom 10 Intellect 10
Charisma 10 Luck 0
Resistance
- - -
- - -
Physical Attack : 3
Magical Attack : 0
Hand Off-Hand
- -
Defense : 2
Head - Shoulder -
Body Villager Shirt Back -
Legs Brown Pants Foot Worn Out Shoes
Accessories - Accessories -
Trinkets - Trinkets -
Guild
-
Territories
-
=== Yuri was dumbfounded, even his name is weird. He felt his energy seeped out from his body, this avatar was like an alts that have been abandoned and left to dust by its owner just to be removed at the next wipe. He took a deep breath and tried to accept his situation, I''m fine this is what Lillie gave to me so I need to use it. He chanted that words into his mind as if to brainwash his own brain. Giving in to his bad luck, he decided to check out inventories next. His expectation once more shattered, it was empty and barrens like a wasteland, no, even wastelands have plants living on it. He was shocked, not even newbie potions were found in there. "What game is this! They even didn''t give out free potions for a newbie!" He yelled furiously. He took a deep breath, trying not to be too carried away by the situations. He exited the inventories windows and back to the menu once more. He looked at his remaining options that haven''t been opened, there was skills, guild, reputations, and mailbox. Yuri expectations now were at its lowest, so he didn''t bother opening his skills windows. Guild and reputations didn''t even catch his eyes now, because its empty for now anyway, and that leaves him with the mailbox options.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! His index finger touched the options. If this game isn''t even sending an automated messages saying thanks for playing this game, I''m gonna call the head of this company and give him a lecture for a lifetime, he muttered in his minds. This wasn''t a lie, in fact, he can do it right away if he wanted to, and even if he did do that, the head of this game company can only lower his head while offering him some compensation and apology for the bad experience. Tring Yuri was shocked by the sight, one mail after another lined up in his mailbox. Approximately one thousand three hundred eighty-one unread mails are on his mailbox. The titles were unique one after another, but they have written in a certain pattern. They were written in according to its classifications like plates, leathers, clothes, and accessories. The mails also have the same sender by the name of Lillian, and he thought that this was Lillie in game name. Almost all of it were mails that contained pieces of equipment. There were only four items that weren''t attached with pieces of equipment. Yuri had his mouth gape with the sheer numbers of it, he skimmed all of it until he reached the last mail. "Lillie...You played this game too much...*sigh*" Although he was angry by the thought that his sister was playing this game religiously, it was also partially his fault for neglecting his duty as a brother. He just shook his head while looking at his clustered mailbox. Now...How do I navigate through all of this, he thought. He worked his brain and decided to check out the items that weren''t pieces of equipment first. The first mail he opened was the one with the title, [Gift #1 - Tournaments Prize]. In there, he found a simple letter that says, ''A gift for brother! Use this to make a kingdom'' And attached to it was an item called [Heaven''s Will]. "She already planned for that promise..." He was baffled by the thought and finds his sister was remarkable. He accepted the attached items and decided not to view the item descriptions, instead, he opened another mail with the same title, [Gift #2 - Name Customizations]. Yuri''s eyes gleamed, as expected his sister already predicted the outcome of this avatar''s fate. In there he found the items called [Inks of Fate]. Yuri put his excitements on hold and decided to open another mail, [Gift #3 - Appearance Customizations]. Now he was in tears just by looking at the mail titles, he thanked Lillie from the bottom of his heart, and as expected in there he found the item he desperately wanted, [Narcissus''s Blessings]. Finally, the last mail that didn''t contains pieces of equipment. He already had his wish fulfilled so he was not too excited for this last one, but he opened it anyway. The mail had the same titles as the last three but with exclamations mark written on it. The title was, [Gift #4 - Important! Use this right away!]. Attached in the mail, he found an item called [Path of The Supreme]. He was puzzled but accepted it anyway. He was done with opening his mail for now and decided to check out the item he just got. His inventory now was not as barren like before, four items were sitting there. He clicked the item called [Heaven''s Will] first. Another window opened on top of his inventory, the window showed the enlarged version of the item and on the right side of it, the description was written. The item was like a piece of parchments paper, wrapped with red ribbons and sealed with some sort of royal seals.
Heaven''s Will
A gift bestowed by the creators for the mortals below. A writ used for owning a territory. - single use. (The given territories will be given at random. A teleport scroll will be given if the item is used.)
Requirements: Level 10 and above
Use Take Out Delete
Yuri saw the description and nodded. He can''t use the item yet because he was still at level one and the requirements are for level ten and above, and he can''t click use anyway because the options were greyed out in the first place. Done with the first item, he clicked at the items one after another. Three windows appeared the same as before but with different items displayed.
Inks of Fate
A legendary inks that were used to write the fate of mortals by the goddess of fate, Fortuna. This item is used for changing the user in game name. - single use.
Requirements: Level 1 and above
Use Take Out Delete
Narcissus''s Blessings
Blessing for the one that was infatuated by his own appearance. This item is used for changing the user appearance. - single use. (The system will scan the body of the user once more and all unsaved appearance will be overwritten with the default ones.)
Requirements: Level 1 and above
Use Take Out Delete
Path of The Supreme
Journals of the supreme ruler of the past that have been conquered all of Fantasia. This item will give out a quest related to the item. - Single Use.
Requirements: Level 30 and above
Use Take Out Delete
His eyes gleamed even more looking at the two items, [Inks of Fate] and [Narcissus''s Blessing]. The first item was shaped like a glass inks container, with a glowing purple inks inside of it, while the second item was shaped like a highly decorated gothic mirror with gold as its primary color. Done admiring the two. He turned his sight into the third item. His eyebrows were raised looking at the item description. Based from his experience, these kinds of items were highly tied to the lore of the game, and usually gave out a long chain of quests. He hated those kinds of quests to the bone, even when he was a gaming extraordinaire, he disdained that kinds of quest, all he wanted was a nice quest with one or two follow-ups that gave out nice experience and gold at the end. This kinds of quest require him to travel a long distance and even explore the whole world, and that was one of the reasons that he disdain it at the first place, but, he got no choice right now, it was his sister wish and the title of the mail even states that this is important. He sighed and hung his head low, thankfully he didn''t have to do that right now because of the level requirements. Back to the two items. Yuri can''t hold his excitements to use it, and so he moved his finger slowly while grinning from ear to ear. He clicked the use button for [Inks of Fate]
Are you sure, you wanted to use this item?
YES NO
He smiled even wider now, and without hesitation, he clicked the yes button. Suddenly he was transferred into another place. He felt nauseated by the sudden transfer, and muttered in his mind, can''t they make a smoother transition. Just a bit better he turned his head to looked around and found the place looked like space filled with stars, and he was standing above a big solar systems. He was amazed by the sight in front of him, just after he admired the place he heard a feminine voice rang inside his ears. - Please state the new name of your avatar - "Yuri" - That name already been used please state another name - His rusty gaming experience was now showing its face. He was shocked and finally realized that in an MMORPG a simple name would have been taken already by the older player. He racked his brain to choose a cool name for himself because once it''s done there''s no going back again. "Yurian" - Name available, are you sure want to use this name? - "Yes" Woosh Yuri was transferred back to his original position. He didn''t check his information right after, instead, he opened his inventory once more and use the [Narcissus''s Blessings] Once more he was transferred back to the place he was before. Once more he felt nauseated. That''s it I''m filing complaints to the company, he thought. The same feminine voice rang inside his ears. - Scanning the user body, please wait a second. - -- -- - Completed, the avatar was now at its default state. Do you want to choose another gender other than your real self? - "No" - Please choose one of the thirty-two races - A window appeared with all the available options. Yuri just skimmed through towards the bottom of the list. Then scrolled again to the top, he just think that the races were redundant and just a matter of preferences, in the end he choose the human races. - You may customize your appearance. - Now a mirror appeared in front of him. He saw his appearance in front of him, and to his shock it was the same appearance he had in the real world. He was satisfied with it and finalized his appearance. - Are you satisfied with this appearance? - "Yes" Woosh Transferred once more to his original place, Yuri tried moving his body and it felt just perfect, no longer he felt weird moving his own body. Satisfied, he opened the game menu once more and clicked the avatar info options. Yuri looked at his information and a smile was plastered on his face. The status was the same, but the only difference was his name and gender. Finally done with that, he noticed that he was standing in this vast plains for almost two hours. He looked all around, no monsters were found at sight, only critters such as rabbits accompanied him. He also saw the town just north of him and decided to go there. Chapter 4 - First Quest A dirt road leading up to the town. On both sides of the road, a wheat farm stretched far across the plains. The picturesque sceneries were complimented by the good weather. Sounds of birds chirping traveled through the air and Yuri was completely immersed as he took a break for a second to close his eyes and seep it all in. After walking for about ten minutes in the dirt road, Yuri finally saw clearly the town he saw at the distance. The town was built on top of an island on the edge of the lake, the town itself was quite big and surrounded by a stone wall. Inside its stone wall, countless medieval houses with burning chimneys filled the majority of the space while on the northern edge of it a castle stood tall among the rest of the houses. Yuri was amazed by the sight, and can''t wait to feel the atmosphere of the town itself. He picks up his pace and was greeted by a stone bridge that leads to the front gate of the town. In there, he can finally see some players and NPC. Sounds of chatters added with the beautiful view of the lake filled the surroundings. His head was all around the place but his feet didn''t stop moving towards the innards of the city. He kept walking aimlessly and arrived at the town square. The town square itself was the heart of that place, at the center of it was a large water fountain decorated with angel statue on top of it. Players wearing leather armors or NPC with their civilians clothing and even the nobles can be seen there, with the occasional guards that passed by to patrol the city. In there, the sounds of chatters and clamors of the place were even louder than he was at the bridge. The town was just like the real world, people coming and going, customers haggling, and even the pub filled with drunkards. Even though he was mesmerized by the sight, he decided not to be stuck in there and set his minds to finds more information about the place. He perked his head and barely saw a big sign that reads ''Adventurer''s Guild'', just north of the town square. His eyes gleamed and moved his feet towards the place. In Emperor''s Destiny, The Adventurer''s Guild was like a hub for the players, a place to mingle with each other, finds a party, or even take bounties, but, this place was built especially for the newer players to find information and tutorials for the game. And also this place was the place where most of the trolls or even scammers are found. ---- His steps were steady as he finds himself standing just outside The Adventurer''s Guild front door. The place itself was quite big, similar to the inns of the medieval era. From the outside, he can hear players talking and laughing. What a lively place he said in his minds, he took a breath and stepped inside. Few gazes were looking at him when he entered the place, while he just ignored it and walked straight to the receptions counter. Yuri saw a girl was standing just behind the counter smiling at him. "Welcome to Stonehelm branch of Adventurer''s Guild, how may I help you?" "Information about this place." "Please wait a second." Tring ===
Stonehelm Town
Stonehelm Town, one of the town under the jurisdiction of Misthelm kingdom. Surrounded by abundant natural resources, such as lumber''s, iron''s, and also its fertile lands. On the west of the town, the Stonehelm forest can be found, adventurer should be cautious when navigating through the forest because monsters roam its vicinity. On the East of the town is the town iron quarries at the feet of Mount Redpeaks, goblins have been seen coursing through the perimeter of the quarries so tread with cautions. On the north of the town, was Lake Silvia, filled with freshwater fish and marine animals, if one so desired to be a fisherman, this was the best place to start. On the south was the vast plains of Arugal, that leads to the neighboring town, Lindow. Adventurers, be aware, don''t get lost by midnight, as ghouls and ghost''s roamed free in its surface. The Stonehelm Town itself was ruled and managed by a young viscount by the name of Coenred. Conferred the title at the age of twenty-seven after his father passed away by old age. The young viscount took reigned of the town and managed to make its citizens happy, by providing a better living...
=== Yuri closed the windows after he read the first paragraph of the place history. Its long, too long to read he berated in his minds, but the text did give him a useful piece of information, and that is the locations of hunting grounds. The front door''s of the Adventurer''s Guild been slammed at the same time when Yuri closes his information window. BAM! "G-GOBLINS!! HORDE OF THEM!! THEY''RE COMING HERE FROM THE QUARRIES!!" The boisterous place was now filled with silence when they heard the sudden yell. All the players head were turned, looking at the man that yelled before, and Yuri was no exception. Tring ====
NEW QUEST INFORMATION
Stop the goblins invasions towards the town of Stonehelm!
Goblins were amassing an army to invade the town of Stonehelm, now the army was completed and the invasions had just begun. Although a being with lower intelligence, the goblins were a vengeful monster, being disturbed and hunted by the town citizens, the goblins have planned a revenge towards Stonehelm.
Quest Difficulty : E+
Quest Requirements : Vicinity of Stonehelm
Issued by : Viscount Coenred
==== Yuri was startled for a second because the window just suddenly appeared in front of his eyes. He also looked at his surroundings and all the players there were either busy accepting the quest or preparing their equipment. Yuri looked at his quest windows again and thought that this was the perfect opportunity to gain his level. "Accept." Tring
You have accepted the quest.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.Dynamic events such as this were one of Emperor''s Dynasty highlighted feature. This was created by the hands of talented engineers filled with crazy ideas. They created a learning AI to emulate the cycle of death and rebirth. Such as the birth of new NPC''s with its own memories and personalities, that were shaped by a special algorithm and influenced by its environments to imitate the process of human growth. This AI was also implemented with all of the creatures besides the NPC''s. And so the Dynamic Events were created, this event can also be called a natural progression of the world, that will be written in the annals of history of Fantasia. As amazing as it sounds, this so-called natural progression had its share of downside. And that was the humongous size of memories it takes inside the server. This downside is also a major problem for the company that created Emperor''s Dynasty. Basically saying, they''re broke just to pay the server costs, and in desperate needs for an investor''s, but, sadly, no investor''s were interested in a game that didn''t make money. ---- Back to the Adventurer''s Guild. Yuri was browsing through his mailbox once more trying to find a suitable piece of gear for his level. He spends about thirty minutes, just to navigate through his mailbox, and finally found a piece of body armor and a pair of fists weapon. Although he was gifted with the best equipment, that wouldbring every playertodrool or even envied him, instead he just shook his head. Just looking at the sheer amounts of it, gives him a headache already. "Lillie, you''re a maniac...*Sigh*" He looked at the items he got through his inventory. The body armor was a leather type armors with the name [Jerkins of Relentless Power] and equipped it right away. The armor automatically fitted on his body on top of his default white villagers clothing. The armor itself was black in color and looked like stacked rectangular leather, that goes from his neck and ended in the chests area, just above the stomach. A decent piece of armor that covered all of his chests areas, but didn''t cover the shoulders part and most of his stomach. Done admiring his new piece of armor he then proceeds to equip his new weapons, [Bandit''s Grasp]. Same as before the weapons automatically fitted to his hands. The weapons were nothing fancy, it''s just like a bandage, that has been wrapped into his hands that goes towards his elbows. He tried to throw a punch with the weapons in his hands and it just felt natural to use it, he then proceeds to check his status. ====
Avatar Info
Name Race Gender
Yurian Human Male
Professions Alignments Reputation
None Neutral 0
Avatar Level : 1
Health 150 Mana 100
Strength 10 +5 Agility 10 +4
Stamina 11 Vitality 10
Wisdom 10 Dexterity 10 +2
Charisma 10 Intellect 10
Luck 10 -
Resistance
- - -
- - -
Physical Attack : 18
Magical Attack : 0
Hand Off-Hand
Bandit''s Grasp (+3 STR, +2 AGI, +2 DEX) Bandit''s Grasp (+3 STR, +2 AGI, +2 DEX)
Defense : 12
Head - Shoulder -
Body Jerkins of Relentless Power (+2 STR, +2 AGI) Back -
Legs Brown Pants Foot Worn Out Shoes
Accessories - Accessories -
Trinkets - Trinkets -
Guild
-
Territories
-
==== Yuri had a wide grin on his face while looking at his status. This is power! He said in his minds, his inner child once again in control over his brain. He also saw that his equipped items had a rarity, he was puzzled at first and then remembered that the items were color coded with the color blue, just before he equipped it. Indicating the rarity with the ranks of rare. Emperor''s Dynasty had a classification of item rarity just like any MMORPG''s or RPG''s in general, that goes from lowest to highest which are common, uncommon, magic, rare, epic, legend, and god, but, so far the highest items that the players got only have the ranks of epic and that was acquired by defeating a raid boss. Even the top players that have reached level five hundred or more only used a set of epic ranked equipments. And because of this, the items that had the ranks above epic ranks were considered a myth by many players. Of course, Yuri was clueless about this classifications, because he just skipped all the information provided by the game manuals. He was busy admiring his status, with a wide smile plastered all over his face. Satisfied, he closed his status window and rushed towards the battlefields. He navigated through the stone tiled roads of Stonehelm. Just as he rushed through the streets, he saw the town streets looked empty compared to before, and the sight was quite disturbing. He assumed that the majority of the citizens there were consumed by fears and locked tight their doors. The only ones that used the streets were either players or the viscount soldiers that were rushing through just like Yuri did. ---- He finally arrived at the battlefields. Countless soldiers and players were battling an army of furious goblins that were armed with either swords, clubs, or even flails that they got from their victims. The shrieks of the fallen were haunting to hear, blood was scattered all over the place, and his body shivered by the sight. This is a real battlefield, and his minds were jumbled by the thought. He looked at his hands and noticed that his hands were shaking fervently. He gripped his hands tight and took a deep breath. He organized his minds, and slowly opened his eyes to look at the battlefields once more. His eyes were clear and still as water, he composed himself not to get carried away by the emotions. No longer his eyes filled with fears, only determination. I''ve been to many battlefields before, betting with my life and my sister, and this was nothing compared to it. This was his thoughts after experiencing the suffering from his past, in fact, he was correct, this was nothing compared to the real life, it was just a binary number consisted of ones and zeroes, and with that mindset, he already conquered his first obstacle in this game. Yuri scanned the battlefields looking for his opportunity to strike. The moments arrived swiftly, a goblin with his club was rushing towards him, thinking that he was an easy prey. He noticed that he was targeted, he took a deep breath once more, and moved his feet to intercept the goblin that rushed towards him. Chapter 5 - Kill! Kill! Kill! The battlefields became more chaotic. Neither side wanted to retreat, the once green plains were now painted with a tinge of red. The smell of metallic scent was carried away by the winds and spreads into the town. Yuri, on the other hand, was focused on his enemy, he sprinted across the battlefields, just to get to this goblin, that thought he was an easy prey. The goblin panicked. Its predictions were wrong, and it looks like itself was the prey instead. Seconds after, the goblin was startled by the arrival of Yuri in front of its face, panic-stricken the goblin swung with the club in its hand targeting his face. Yuri saw the club was coming towards him and dodged perfectly by lowering his body. His stance was like a stance that was used in boxing. He kept his body close to his arm, and maneuvered into the goblin blind spot. His eyes were composed and showed little to no emotions, as if he was calculating all the possibilities that the goblin will take. Arrived at his intended locations, Yuri saw the goblin''s health bar and threw a punch with all of his strength towards the goblin''s face, sending it falling to the ground and leaving it''s HP bar near zero. Seconds before its face hit the surface, he threw another punch as the last blow towards the same spot. Just to make the goblin''s face bounced to kiss the ground twice and leaving a crack beneath it as a result. ===
- Critical Hit! -
- Inflicted dazed status. -
Goblin Lv. 2 defeated. - Experience gained: 1000 exp (9000 exp more to level up.) -
=== The fight was short and only lasted about ten seconds, but Yuri was left in a haggard state, with sweat rolled into his cheeks. The level of realism in this game was astonishing, he thought in his minds, he also noticed that he was sweating and this also added some points into his immersion. He also saw the fight log in a newly appeared window on the right corner of his eyes, telling about the results of his fight. A new bar also appeared just above his health bar in the upper right corner, and this bar was supposed to tell the amounts of experience he got to reach the next level. he muttered while catching his breath, "I inflicted critical hits...Maybe the goblins head was its weak points? But I hit it twice, why isn''t it a critical hit...I need to experiments more about this...Also, I inflicted a dazed status towards the goblin...This is maybe because of the critical''s hit, that I inflicted towards its head and also, I used a blunt weapons category...That is the only explanations I got right now..." Yuri was lost on his thoughts while the body of the goblins that he defeated before, slowly dissolved into light motes. His thoughts weren''t wrong at the slightest, in fact, Emperor''s Destiny followed the basic formula most of the RPG''s genre had implemented. You hit the enemies head with a blunt weapon and that could inflict dazed status or even stun status, while, on the other hand, when you''re using a slashing weapon, there would be a chance that you would inflict the bleed status, same with piercing weapons. This formula is also highly tied to the RNG system, while hitting at the face, would surely have a higher chance of inflicting status with a blunt weapon, the same with hitting the weak points of the enemy that would have higher chance to land critical hits. This system can also be improved by equipping an item with the related effects or having skills that improved it. With all of that said, if the player still didn''t land a single critical hit, then that person better pray more or just accept that he or she had a bad luck. ---- The battlefields were still raging and becoming more heated by each second. Yuri already got back his stamina and charged towards the nearby goblins, intending to amass his experience points. ===
- Strength rises by 1 point. (STR+1) -
Goblin Lv. 2 defeated - Experience gained: 1000 exp (8000 exp more to level up.) -
=== His body was as nimble as a fox. He dodges the goblins attack one after another and released devastating counter-attacks. His minds were at its highest state, other''s may say that he was in a zone. Some of the players also took notice of Yuri rampage throughout the battlefields and can''t believe their eyes. ===
- Agility rises by 1 point. (AGI+1) -
Goblin Lv. 3 defeated. - Experience gained: 1500 exp (6500 exp more to level up.) -
Goblin Lv. 2 defeated. - Experience gained: 1000 exp (5500 exp more to level up.) -
- You''ve been hit for 20 damage. -
- Inflicted dazed status. -
Goblin Lv. 3 defeated. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. - Experience gained: 1500 exp (4000 exp more to level up.) -
=== He moved from one goblin to another, he felt the adrenaline coursing through his veins, granted he took a hit but that was already impressive enough, in a fight this chaotic. His body was not just well maintained, the past three years aside from accompanying his sister and managing his company. He also took lessons in kickboxing to relieve some of his piled up stress, and got his black belt this year. And now, in this VRMMORPG environments the black belt that he got, finally had its share of glory. ---- The players noticed that the goblins hordes were thinning by the minute. They also noticed, that there was this one crazy person, who goes on a furious rampage against the goblins armed just with his fists. The goblins were no exceptions to this, they also noticed it but there were fears written in their eyes. Yuri forced his way through towards the heart of goblins army, followed by a handful of players and NPC''s soldiers. He didn''t realize that he was deep inside the enemy lines, this was because of the zone state he was in, he tunneled his visions and minds to only focused on his enemies, their surroundings and how to defeat them. "DIE! HUMANS!" "DIE! DIE! DIE!" "TAKE THIS!" One goblin after another sent a strike towards him. He dodged the strikes of the goblin''s and also threw a counter given the opportunities, his movements are fluid and flowed like water. He also didn''t forget to scan his surroundings, while his brain worked at full capacities calculating every possible outcome. Ding ===
You have leveled up!
- Strength rises by 1 point. (STR+1) - Agility rises by 1 point. (AGI+1) - Vitality rises by 1 point. (VIT+1) - Stamina rises by 1 point. (STA+1)
You have unlocked Fist Mastery [Lv.1] (ATK+5% Using Fist Weapons) - Requirements : Use fist weapons 50 times. (Completed) -
You have unlocked Swift Movements [Lv.1] (AGI+5%) - Requirements : Dodge enemies hit 50 times. (Completed) -
Goblin Lv. 3 defeated. - Experience gained: 1000 exp (19000 exp more to level up.) -
=== Yuri didn''t have the time to check out his logs, but he felt the difference in his avatar. His body was moving a little bit faster than before, and he also felt that the punches and kicks he threw were more powerful. "MAGES YOU''RE BLIND!! YOU''RE HITTING ALLIES!!" "HEALERS!! HEAL DON''T DPS WTF!!" "I''M OUT OF ARROWS!!" "ARGHH!!!" "LOL!! NOOB!!" "KILL!! HUMANS!!" Minutes passed and the battles still raged on, accompanied by the sounds of explosions and metal clashing. Slowly, the fatigue finally kicked in. Although he felt his body improved, at the same time his stamina was slowly decreasing the longer he fought. And now, he just moved by the sheer willpower of his minds. "I need to get out of here!" he said desperately. He took one or two hits while dodging the goblins attack because of his fatigued conditions, leaving him with half of his maximum health. "I refused to believe that I will die in here, Kill!" He gritted his teeth and sent a flying knee kick to the nearest goblins. His eyes looked menacing as if to release his rage. ===
- Critical Hit! -
=== "GROAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!" The roar reverberated through the entire battlefields. The roar was like a wake-up calls to all the players and also the soldiers there. Fight! Were the only words in their minds right now. The morale of the players and the soldiers were now at its highest. "KILL!!!" "MAGES BURN THEM DOWN!!" "WE''RE ALMOST DONE!!" "KEEP THE DPS COMING BOYS!!" "OI!! DON''T NINJA LOOT YOU FK!!" On the other hand, the goblins were stunned for a second, fear and despair slowly crawled into their minds. The roar was like a roar of a beast, and it felt like they were being hunted by their natural predator. Tring ===
You unlocked active skills Lion''s Roar [Lv.1]: Buff the allied party with +10 STR and +10 STA, also inflict fears to the nearby enemies. Lasts for 1 Minute | Cooldowns: 10 minutes | Not stackable with another Roar skills. Requirements : Releasing a deafening roar when surrounded by more than 50 enemies. (Completed)
=== Yuri was like a war god in that battlefields. After he was buffed with the effect''s of [Lion''s Roar], he became even more crazier than before. His logs moved upwards at every second, but not quite enough to get his avatar into level three. ---- At the next couple of minutes, the battle''s were nearly finished and only a handful of goblins left in the vicinity of the plains. Yuri defeated all of his opponents and was left exhausted by the fight, resulting in dropping his body into his knees. A roar can be heard from a distance, and Yuri perked his head towards the direction. The goblin commander was charging at him. It was furious by the sight of losing its army, and that was partially because of Yuri. Its body was taller and bigger than a normal goblin, and it wore a full set of leather armors in its body, while dragging its big sword with its left hand. "YOU! HUMANS! MUST DIE!" The players saw that the goblin commander was charging towards Yuri, but they were just as exhausted as him, and also they were not as skilled as Yuri did. So they placed their bets on him, if Yuri won that fight, they will go back with a victory on their hands, but if it was the other way around. Then they will be slaughtered. Yuri saw the incoming goblin commander, he gritted his teeth and his willpower moved his body once more. He felt his body was rigid and didn''t completely listen to his will. On the upper left corner of his eyes, he saw the cooldowns of his [Lion''s Roar]. "Five seconds left..." He muttered. With each second the goblin commanders were inching closer and closer. Yuri fixed his sight towards the goblin commanders. Three seconds, he counted inside his minds, the goblin commanders finally arrived in front of him. The big sword in its arms was lifted up above its head. "WATCH OUT!!" "HEAL HIM!!! HEALERS!!!" "I GOT NO MP LEFT!!" "WTF YOU''RE USELESS EVEN YOUR DPS IS USELESS!!" "WHAT DID YOU SAY!!" Yuri ignored all the ruckus the players made and focused his eyes, while telling his body to ready at the incoming attack. SLASH! The sword slashed in a vertical manners intended to split Yuri skulls apart. He told his body to move but it just won''t budge, while the sword was approaching closer to his head. Chapter 6 - Meeting and Misunderstanding Zero... "GROAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!" The shout was deafening, violently vibrating through the eardrums. The vigorous roar''s reached the elongated ears of the goblin commander. Fear crept up to his underdeveloped brain. On the other hand, Yuri felt the sudden surge of power coursing through his fatigued body. The adrenaline arrived inside his brain, enhancing his focused state. The sword moved in a slow motion inside Yuri''s vision. Neurons clashed and made explosions inside his brain, the worn-out flesh now moved, reacting to its master commands. The swords brushed his short black hair, just to miss while scraping bits of leather towards the ground. BANG! The earth surface cracked by the impact from the metal cleavers. Bits of dirt and gravels flew all over direction, while the grass wailed at its demise. He barely danced with death. He fixed his stance. His breath was firm and steady, while drawing his right hands as if it was the string of a bow. His eyes showed the menace he holds inside. A beast, looking at his prey. BOOM! The punch split the air into halves, destroying anything on its path while traveling to the goblin commander stomach.
- Critical Hit! -
"Bluergh." The goblin commander received the full impact of the strike. He felt the water inside his stomach churned and traveled back to his mouth, while at the same time pushing him back in a wobbled state. Yuri, on the other hand, already prepared his second move and didn''t give the goblin commander any time to recover. He followed it up with an elbow strike towards its chest. "URgh." The goblin commander once again felt his innards bursting, the pain made him lost his balance and dropped onto his knees. Didn''t want to lose a single opportunity, He followed it up again with another punch towards the goblin commander face. - Inflicted dazed status. - The goblin commander was losing its consciousness, while Yuri saw that the health bar on the goblin commander was almost finished. He ran a little trying to get the speed he needs by circling the goblin commander. The momentum arrived quickly, he jumped to throw a knee-kick into the goblin commanders head. Ding ===
Goblin Commander Lv. 6 defeated. - Experience gained: 3000 exp (3000 exp more to level up.) -
- Goblin Commander dropped [Silver Bangle] -
====
- You have leveled up! -
- Strength rises by 1 point. (STR+1) - Agility rises by 1 point. (AGI+1) - Vitality rises by 1 point. (VIT+1) - Stamina rises by 1 point. (STA+1)
You have unlocked Will of Steel [Lv.1]: STA+3% - Requirements : Moving the avatar when stamina is exhausted for 5 minutes. (Completed.) -
===
Stop the goblins invasions towards the town of Stonehelm. (Completed) - To receive your rewards go to Viscount Coenred office at Stonehelm Castle. -
=== The sight was spectacular, brutal even, Yuri relentless attack made him like a beast instead of a man. The players were shocked and even stunned looking at the outcome. They know they were low leveled but the enemies were also around their levels, some of them even had the same level as the goblin commanders. But, if they were the one facing the goblin commanders instead of Yuri, they would be decimated in a matter of seconds without a chance to fight back. This was because the VRMMORPG game didn''t only factor the status, but also the actual skills of the player itself, so if the players that in the real world were a boxer, MMA fighter, or martial artist in general, then they would have another advantage playing this type of game. "So cool..." "What class is he?" "Martial Artist? Brawler?" "No...He didn''t even use any skills related to that class." "But he used the [Lion''s Roar] Isn''t that supposed to be Warrior''s skill..." "WHO CARES!! WE WON!!!" "HOORAY!!!" "VICTORY!!!" The players were drunk for their triumph against the goblin''s horde, on the other hand, Yuri was just mentally exhausted. His breathing was ragged and blood covered all over his armor and clothing, especially his fists. He looked at his hands that were covered in red. He was shaking. He never felt like this before. The sense of achievements. Even when he became a successful billionaire, the feelings were not like this. The excitements were burning in his heart, maybe this was the case when Lillie became obsessed with the game.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "You''re great!! Want to party up after this?" "Hey!! What''s your class?? It''s OP!!" "That''s [Lion''s Roar] right?? How did you learn it??" One player after another approached him, asking to be his friend, to ask him up for a party, or even invited him to a guild. Yuri was just too tired and mentally exhausted to deal with them, and so, his real-world persona came out. The stern young man, that was cold and aloof, except for the people he knew. "Move." He took his loot and brushed one of the players to open up his path. The players were stunned by Yuri attitude and the arrogance that he exuded. But, they were not offended by the slightest, instead, they thought that his attitude was somewhat cool. "Do you see that!! That''s what a master attitude should look like!!" "Kyaaa!! So cool!! From now on you''re my idol!!" Not only the male players, even the female players thought that his bearings are stylish, on top of his handsome face. On the other hand, Yuri ignored the ruckus the players made and just kept walking towards the town, but, his minds were puzzled by the player''s reaction. People''s are weird, he thought. ---- The city once more filled with bustling activity. Yuri found himself sitting alone in the park, near the stone bridge. Intending to not bring himself some unnecessary attention. This was because of his suddenly famous status, not only that, there is also a fan club, recently made just to admire him, created by some of the female players that had seen his handsome face and his aloof personality, that they found was rather cute. And for this reason, he decided to wait until the commotion had died down, before receiving his rewards from the viscount office. Looking at his predicaments, he just sighed while sitting on one of the park benches with an item in his hand. He just stared at the item and let his thought wanders. Do this game have voice commands? I''m sure they implemented it right...Well, I guess I''ll have to try it myself. Yuri gripped the item tight in his hand and muttered, "Item status..." Tring ===
[Silver Bangle]
A bangle that once used by a noble, but was slain by a goblin a long time ago.
Accessories - DEX+1, Durability: 50/50, Uncommon. (Requirements: Level 1 and Above.)
Equip Store Delete
=== His eyes gleamed. Great! This makes everything easier, I didn''t have to do that weird motion again to open the menu, he said in his minds, and looked at the item description in front of his eyes. "This item is...Not too bad...I can use this right away..." Yuri equipped it almost instantly, the silver bangle automatically attached to his wrist, blending in with his bandage like weapons. "Lillie, I''m sorry but your brother didn''t have time to spend hours just staring at the mailbox...Maybe at later level..." Yuri muttered while at the same time remembered that he got four new skills in his avatar. "Three passive, and one active...So this game didn''t use the tradition skill trees I assume...*Sigh*...I need to check the manuals to confirm this..." He hated the idea already. Emperor''s Dynasty didn''t use the traditional pick and choose skill trees like other MMORPG''s, instead, it used a system that had the same principles as the learning AI. Thus it gave the players the abilities to learn new skills or spells based on their own understanding. In Yuri case, however, the skills that he got was a skill that was locked by certain criteria or conditions. But, that doesn''t mean that a classless player would have the abilities to learn any abilities and skills in the game, in fact, the skill that didn''t have the class requirements were not that many. The skills were divided into three categories, class-specific skills, locked skills, and unique skills. Class-specific skills just like its name were a class that only belong to that class. Locked skills, on the other hand, were skills that were locked by certain criteria or conditions, just like Yuri have experienced. And the last was unique skills, this skill was a skill that was created by the player''s understanding, items, or even quests, and also the skill would be the only one in the game with no duplicate whatsoever, hence the name unique. ---- Hours passed by quickly, the sun had set replaced by the glow of the moonlight. Yuri felt his stomach churning and his throat drying. Emperor''s Dynasty also used the satisfaction system typically used in the survival genre. This was intended to maximize the amount of immersion the players can get playing the game, and also placed as some sort of a challenge for the players. So, not only can the players die from a monsters attack, they also can die from hunger and thirst. "I need to get the rewards now and buy some foods...Lillie why don''t you just give your brother some money to use, why it had to be equipments..." Of course, the gift Lillie sent can be sold to profit him some gold, but knowing his personality, he just can''t bear to sell the item''s that his dear sister gave to him. Yuri lifted his body and decided to go the viscount office. He walked through the dimly lit streets of Stonehelm, the clamors and the bustling town were no more, replaced by the sounds of drunkards at the local taverns. This time is also the perfect time for thieves and bandits to show their brilliance for terrorizing the unlucky few. "You want some of this punk!" "Take this!!" "Ptui!" A fight broke out between drunkards. Yuri just shook his head and realized that this world isn''t much different from the real worlds. He kept his pace to navigate the dark alleys and finally reached the vicinity of the castle. Stonehelm castle, the main attraction for the town of Stonehelm. Massive towers, stone steps, and even giant gates decorated the stone behemoth. The viscount coat of arms waved around to assert its dominance, lit by the silver glow of moonlight. Yuri arrived at its front gate and stopped by two guarding soldiers. "State your reason for visiting the castle." One of the guards said. "I''m here to collect my rewards." The guards lifted their spears and said, "The Viscount office is on the second floor. Make it quick!" They''re really roleplaying their roles. Yuri was amazed by the AI capabilities while moving his feet towards the castle inside. Just like the exterior, the interior of the castle was mesmerizing at most. He was greeted with a big hall filled with tapestry, suits of armors, crossing swords ornaments, chandeliers, and big paintings of the viscount wearing his royal suit. Yuri took his time to admire the castle surroundings. This is a piece of art he said in his minds. His feet, however, moved at a slower pace than before, especially when he''s walking on the big steps of stairs located in the middle of the hall. Arrived at the second floor, Yuri stopped his steps and stood on the left wing of the second floor. He scanned his surrounding, that looked like a hallway filled with oak doors illuminated by oil lamps. "Now, where is the viscount office at?" He was puzzled at first, but knowing the fact that he will not make any progress just by standing there, he decided to check the room one by one. "Nothing..." "Not this one either..." "This one is a storage..." "...No comment." After having a cold sweat from the last room, he finally arrived at the last two rooms on the left wing sections. I hope this one is the viscount office, he said in his minds. His hand grabbed the handle of the oak door. Creak The hinges of the oak door made a squeaking sound as if fighting against its rusted body. The room was dark and the only source of lighting was the light that the moon emitted, piercing through the glass door that leads to the room balcony. Yuri was speechless, not because of the room, but there was a woman there. She was standing on the balcony ledges. The moonlight shined towards her short fringed hair. Burnt sienna, the colors of her hair, accompanied her pale complexion that looked like it was glowing in the night, contrasted by the black armor that was attached to her body. "....." "....." "You''re a thief..." The two stared at each other for a brief second until Yuri broke the silence. The woman just smiled at him and let her curved body fall from the balcony. The short encounter was like a dream, even her smile looked so beautiful in the moonlight glow, as she falls into the shade of the castle. Yuri was startled and rushed himself towards the balcony. To his surprise the woman was nowhere to be found, even the sound of impact was nowhere to be found. Seconds after the castle alarms finally broke out, and the soldiers rushed to find the culprits. "Surrender!! Or you will be killed on the spot!!" The guards rushed towards the room where Yuri was. He was standing at the balcony and got a cold sweat on his back. This was his first time being confronted for misconducts, even though he''s pretty much innocents in this case. Yuri put his arms up, and slowly turned his body to face the guards. "I-I''m not a thief! I''m here to collect my rewards from the viscount..." "Shut up! We will know once we''re done with the investigation!" "For now you''re going to the jail!" Chapter 7 - The Great Escape "SEARCH THE PERIMETER!!" "CLOSE THE GATE!!" Gone the silence of the night. Loud clamors and metal clinking filled the castle. Soldiers, guards, butlers, and even maids were rushing and running about inside the castle grounds. "I WANT THE THIEVES FOUND BY THE MORNING AND HANG HIM IN FRONT OF THE MASSES!!" The young Viscount Coenred with his royal outfits ordered. Rage can be seen in his block-shaped face, and his rolling mustache bounced up and down by the fumes he released from his big-sized nostrils. ---- Creak The sound of a door traveled through the dimly lit room. A guard stood in front of room, with a torch in his hands. He waved his torch left and right and his eyes moved at the same time when his torch moved. The guard inspection didn''t last long and took only five seconds until he closed the door once more. "*Sigh*..." Yuri found himself some hiding spot inside the castle wine cellars, this room was also the room where the guards checked earlier. He was sitting in the corner accompanied by rats and little critters, that were running around in search of food. At least they have food, Yuri grumbled in his mind. "Ahhh...I''m hungry, and thirsty...No money...And now I''m a fugitive...So much for being a battle hero...This is that woman''s fault...*sigh*" He looked so pitiful hiding in the corners. The fragrance of wine danced through the air, although he can drink some of it to relieve his thirst, he was afraid to make some unnecessary noise that will reveal his position. "I need to get out of here...Think Yuri...Think..." The brain inside his head was running at its full speed. For now, he only got two options. Wait until the commotion died down and then make his great escape, or, rush to the front gates hoping that he will survive the guard''s onslaught. Do mind that the guards were around level ten and the elite guards were around level twenty to twenty-five, which in turns will make Yuri die in a single hit. Both options had it''s own downside though, the first one, he didn''t know when will the commotion ends, if its short, then it was plausible for him to escape, but if it''s long then he will die from starvation, this options only works if nobody checks the wine cellar. The other options, would have him to foxtrot, waltz and then tango with death itself. Of course, dying was one of the options, he will revive at the closest safe zone, but the penalties for this game is so harsh, that he will be left with a crippling state for two weeks, and that will accumulate with each death. "Jump out of the castle windows? I will break one of my legs, and be found immediately..." "...." "Log out! Yes! Log out!" His finger moved to open up the menu, he scrolled through the menu and left in shock. The log out options was greyed out. WHAT! Panic filled his minds. The log out functions only worked if the players were not in a state of combat, or in a safe zone in general. This feature is supposed to be a fail-safe for the players in case they log out in a dangerous area, because their avatars didn''t disappear instantly and will take time to save their state of progress into the server. "What kinds of sick bastard that put these kinds of features!" The stress levels inside his minds were slowly rising. The whole castle has been turned into a hostile area and his status was in combat still. "I need to get out of here...The lake? I need to take my chances!" He prepared his mind, took a deep breath after another. His face turned serious, because one wrong step would cost him his life. Ready! GO! He shouted inside his head. His steps were careful as he approached the cellar''s door. "Reports!" "Nothing''s here sir!" "What about the wine cellars?" "I already checked it! Nobody inside sir!" "Okay then! You come with me, we''re going to the garden!" "Yes, sir!" The sound''s of guards conversation can be heard through the cellar''s door. Yuri opened it slightly just to see the other sides, through the slits he found that his surroundings were clear, and decided to proceed with his plan. The guards that said that nobody inside the wine cellar, was, in fact, telling the truth, from his perspective there is nobody there, this is because he didn''t check thoroughly and do his job properly, if he was meticulous enough maybe Yuri will have his head hanged by tomorrow. ---- "I need to go to the back side, where the lakes are." He said to himself in a hushed tone. Stonehelm castle wine cellars are located undergrounds beneath the grand hall, the long hallways were filled with doors, that leads to either storage areas, the wine cellars area, or some of the guards sleeping quarters. The only exit was located at the far ends of each side, connected either to the grand halls or the castle courtyards. Yuri rushed himself, knowing that nobody was in the area. His destination was at the far ends of that connected to the courtyards. He knew that the other side was connected to the grand hall because that is where he came earlier, basically, he gambled that the other side were connected to the courtyards. The hallways were narrow and damp, and the only lighting in there was torches, that was hanged in the walls. Nearing the ends of the hallways, He saw a little bit of light emitted from the exit. Yuri didn''t rush through the exit, instead, he snuck a little, peeking through the edges to scan his surroundings. As expected the exit indeed connected to the courtyards, his gamble was a success. A fiery ball of fire moved around the courtyards in a rushed manner. The castle courtyards were spacious, filled with training dummies for the soldiers and even the stables were located in there. On the side, stone steps of stairs can be seen connected to the castle walls. The walls itself were connected to the four towers of the castle, filled with beziers and soldiers guarding its vicinity. He was done with his surveillance and moved in the shade of the castle walls. From his observation, there were around twenty guards in the courtyards and five patrolling through the walls. His heartbeat was rising faster than ever, and his brain worked to its fullest capacities. The guards passed him two or three times, while he was hiding in one of the stables hay. He needs to move fast, the hiding place he was in right now was not ideal in the slightest. He gritted his teeth and rushed towards the stone steps mounted on the wall. As he rushed through, he also didn''t forget to check his surroundings, thankfully there were no guards to where he is going, and his journey was a smooth sail. Arrived at the stone steps of stairs, he stuck his body close to the walls, as if to blends into the walls itself.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. "Almost there...You can do it, Yuri..." He muttered to encourage himself. He reached the top of the stairs and lowers his body. He looked left and right, confirming that there were no guards there. The moonlight shined brightly at the wall''s surface added with the light that the beziers emitted. Yuri navigated through the top of the walls with his crouched position, and finally reached the ends of it. His path was blocked by the castle body, leaving with only a small ledge that leads towards the lake behind. He was shocked by the findings. Now or never Yuri, you''ve got to do this, either you die falling or die drowning. He gritted his teeth and braced himself to walk on the ledges. "Don''t look down now!" The winds brushed his black shining hair, he hugged the castle sides closely towards his body, his steps were small and timid. While in his minds chaotic thoughts appear one after another. "Don''t look down..." His heart was racing just like a supercar. Blood pumped towards his head and his stress level at the maximum level. "If only I haven''t met that woman!" He gritted his teeth furious at the thought. Regrets filled his mind right now, if only he can turn back the time. But, reality didn''t work like that, and he knows that, engraved it in his bones even. He was only furious at the thought that he was powerless by that time, and fate once again had him in the palm of her hand. He traversed through the small ledge and arrived nearly at the end of it. "That''s a long fall..." His minds were blank. He stood at the edge of the ledge, and in front of him was the lake, that he so desired. But, in actuality, between him and the lake, there is a long distance that must be traveled. It''s like he just stood on the edge of Niagara Falls. "Now or never! F***!!!!!" Splosh From a distance, he was just like a tiny speck that visible only for a couple of seconds. But, from Yuri perspective, it was the longest fall he ever experienced, he felt his body falls in a slow motion, torturing his minds. Tring ===
Infamy: +10 (Successfully escape the castle perimeter with the thief status.)
You have unlocked Silent Steps [Lv.1] (Muffled movements when crouching.) - Requirements : Sneak up around 20 enemies. (Completed) -
===
- Stop the goblins invasions towards the town of Stonehelm. (Quest Failed) -
=== Yuri swam across the lake just to arrive at the lake banks near the Stonehelm forest. His clothes were soaked, and he finds it heavy to move around, from a distance, he also can hear faintly the sounds of commotions going through the castle and sighed a relief. "I''m a fugitive now...And the quest failed...Well, at least I got another skill out of it..." He opened up his menu and checks the logout options. Finally, it was no longer greyed out, and he can log out anytime he wants now. He organized his thoughts first, and decided to check his stats before logging out. ====
Avatar Info
Name Race Gender
Yurian Human Male
Professions Alignments Reputation
None Neutral 0 (10 Infamy)
Avatar Level : 3
Health 200 Mana 100
Strength 13 +5 Agility 13 +4
Stamina 13 Vitality 12
Wisdom 10 Dexterity 10 +3
Charisma 10 Intellect 10
Luck 2 -
Resistance
- - -
- - -
Physical Attack : 21
Magical Attack : 0
Hand Off-Hand
Bandit''s Grasp (+3 STR, +2 AGI, +2 DEX) Bandit''s Grasp (+3 STR, +2 AGI, +2 DEX)
Defense : 12
Head - Shoulder -
Body Jerkins of Relentless Power (+2 STR, +2 AGI) Back -
Legs Brown Pants Foot Worn Out Shoes
Accessories Silver Bangle (+1 DEX) Accessories -
Trinkets - Trinkets -
Guild
-
Territories
-
Passive Skills
Fist Mastery [Lv.1]: ATK+5% Using Fist Weapons. Will of Steel [Lv.1]: STA+3%. Swift Movements [Lv.1]: AGI+5%. Silent Steps [Lv.1]: Muffled movements when crouching.
Active Skills
Lion''s Roar [Lv.1]: Buff the allied party with +10 STR and +10 STA, also inflict fears to the nearby enemies. Lasts for 1 Minute | Cooldowns: 10 minutes | Not stackable with another Roar skills.
==== "Not enough...I need more power to build and defend a kingdom...Maybe I need to make a guild first..." Yuri criticized his avatar for being a weakling, while in fact, his stats were more powerful than the normal level 3 players. Added with his martial arts skill, he can contend enemies eight levels above him, and how crazy was that in a VRMMORPG game. Done with his inspections, he decided to call it a day and logged out. ---- He opened his helmet an found that the day was already turned into night. He thought maybe the game took the same real-world day and night cycle, while in fact, the game didn''t take the same cycle. When he just logged out, the sun on the game world was only just to rise up, and he just missed it barely in a fractions of minutes. Not interested to dwell much into that, he decided to take a simple dinner and goes to bed. Chapter 8 - Daily Life "How was it? Do you like it?" VIP Room 3, Seoul Hospital. The day passed and now Yuri was sitting beside his sister bed. Lillie''s eyes sparkled as she bombarded Yuri with a series of questions. He told her everything that happened inside the game, and Lillie just laughed at her brother predicaments. To be honest, Yuri luck isn''t that bad, it''s just his luck is a bit more colorful than the other players. "You need to grind more! Hmm...Let me think...Why don''t you go to Jared''s Lair, inside Stonehelm forest, it''s a bit higher than your level, but I know you can do it." Lille smiled. "But...My avatar is starving..." "Go hunt some deers or rabbits along the way then, oh! And remember to wash the meat first. You will get a debuff if you didn''t wash it first before you cook it." Lillie gave a lengthy lecture. Yuri can see her passion towards the game, even though he''s about to scold her for playing it too much, he just can''t bear to do it. Instead, he just nodded and took a mental note for all the things she said. ---- Time passed and now its eleven in the morning. Yuri bid his goodbye to his dear sister, her conditions seemed improved although its only been two days. As he passed by, the female doctors and nurses were peeking their heads to catch a glimpse of the young billionaire. Tinit The sound of car alarms reverberated throughout the hospital parking lots. Porsche 918 Spyder, a supercar with limited production, only nine hundred and eighteen were produced in the world. Manufactured in October two thousand''s and thirteen, and ended in May two thousand''s and fifteen. The beast was equipped with V8 engines that can produce six hundred and eight horsepower, added with two electric motors, if combined can produce a hundred and eighty-seven horsepower, which translated that the beast can achieve a maximum speed of three hundred and fifty kilometers per hour. Truly a sight to behold. But, unfortunately, that was Felix car and not Yuri. He drove a Hyundai i20. So much for being a billionaire. ---- Skyscrapers were erected all over the city, advertisements, Idols concert annoucements, and even the public elections decorated most of Seoul vicinities. One building stood tall among the rest of skyscrapers. Star media. This was one of the branches of Yuri corporate business that deals in advertising. Yuri drove his car to the entrance of the buildings. Just about to exit his car, he was greeted by the high ranking officers in that office, while the workers there were either puzzled or even curious by his identity. "Welcome to Star Media Mr. Yuri, this way please." He fixed his suit and gave his car key to one of the workers there. "Don''t scratch it." He glared. "Y-yes, sir..." The worker let out an awkward smile. The group walked inside the fifty storied building, led by the branch manager. The workers were awestruck looking at him when they finally remembered, that he was the CEO for the company that they worked for. It was exactly the same scene in a Korean drama, but the real-life version of it. The branch manager explained in a sharp and concise manner, about the work they do, workers conditions, and the financial status of the company, while going to their meetings on the thirtieth floor. The meetings were talking about the general direction the company would take, and Yuri as the helm of the company would have to make most of the decisions there. Felix can be seen there too, sitting beside him with his gray suit and slick back hairstyles on his brown hair. ---- The meetings didn''t last long, it only took about fifteen minutes for Yuri to decide the general directions for the company to take, and now he was sitting in his office that was located within the same floor where the meetings held, accompanied by Felix.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. "Don''t tell me you''re driving here with that car of yours?" "Shut up. I like that car, it''s cheap, and reliable." "And you call me a miser?" Felix rolled his eye. "Because that''s a fact! Oh! And take care of business here, I''ve got another stuff to do." "What stuff? You''re playing that game? Why didn''t you tell me! I want to play it too!!" "And why must I tell you that? Besides, you have the capsules already at your home, just get the game card and then you can play it all you want." "You''re not fun! What''s your name in the game anyway?" "Yurian." "Like Yuri with an, An?" "Yeah." "Your naming sense is weird..." "Whatever, I''m going first." ---- Ding Yuri walked out from the elevators intending to get his car key from the receptions desk. He looked at his surroundings and found a cafe nearby, knowing that he can''t eat while playing the game, he decided to eat there instead. The lobby was filled with workers and clients from all over the place. The lobby also connected to a cafe that was meant to serve the masses and the workers. Like every other office, employees there can get a discount if they decided to eat there. "Mr. Yuri here''s your car key." The female receptionist said while handing his key with her two hands. "Thank you." One or two people stared at him, curious with the young CEO. Yuri pretty much used to this type of situation and just walk along to his destination, although in his mind he just hopes to live a normal life with his sister. Arrived at the cafe counters, Yuri scanned the menus there. The majority of food there was Korean''s food with the occasional European Food like steak and ham. Yuri wasn''t a picky eater, in fact, his taste buds were pretty much down to earth. He ate everything that was served in front of him, and didn''t have much complain about it, but, there is one food that he hated the most and that is bread with vegemite. He scanned the menus for about ten seconds, until he decided just to order the jajangmyeon and a bibimbap. The order didn''t take long to arrive, Yuri took his trays and found one empty table near the window, and decided to sit there. "Um...Can I sit here? There are no empty tables and you''re the only one eating alone..." He was pretty much gobbling his food down to his throat, when he heard a female voice beside him. He was startled, his cheeks were bloated and haven''t chewed his food yet, he looked at the woman and nodded while allowing her to seat in front of him. The woman looked like in her twenties, her long hair covered his back and her eyes were brown in color matching his hair. She wore a black hat and a black hoodie as if to hide her identity. Yuri took a glance or two towards the woman, but shook his head instead and resumed his meals. The Jajangmyeon and the bibimbap he ordered were gone in just a second. He was eating like there was no tomorrow, maybe this was the after-effect of starvation that he felt inside the game. He was satisfied and sighed a relief, while the woman in front of him was speechless at the sight, and let out a chuckle. He heard the chuckle and got back to reality, he was embarrassed by his behavior and apologized, afraid if his behavior was making her lose an apetite. "I-I''m so sorry..." "Ah! You don''t have to be sorry." She was startled by the sudden apology, but smiled after. "I-I''m going first then." Yuri grabbed his trays and rushed towards the counter. The woman chuckled finding his reaction a bit funny, she was done with her meals too and decided to follow along. "How much is it?" "Ah! It''s a free service for you, Mr. Yuri." "No. Here take this, and tell the chef I like the food." Yuri opened up his wallet, and take out his credit card. There isn''t much going on inside his wallet, only a couple of things can be found there, the most important was his license, and his sister photos, and also the Emperor''s Destiny game card. "B-but..." "Just take it." "Yes, sir..." The woman was standing behind him, without his knowledge. She heard the whole conversations and deduced that Yuri was some sort of an elite, but from his personality, he wasn''t the type that arrogant young masters had. "You play Emperor''s Destiny?" The woman asked. "AH!" Yuri was startled, he didn''t see that the woman was standing behind him. The woman chuckled, and asked again, "Do you play Emperor''s Destiny?" "Yes..." "What''s your level?" "Um...Three..." The woman''s eyes sparkled hearing the answer. She played the game too, well, the majority of people in Korea played it too, so it wasn''t that surprising, but what are the odds finding one in the real world, mostly they were found online in the forums or through mutual friends. "You played in the evening? What town are you in?" "Y-Yes? Stonehelm...Why are you asking me this question?" "Let''s party this evening then, I''m in Stonehelm too." "Huh?" "Oh! I haven''t introduced myself yet, I''m Yang So-Hee, while in the game my name is Kiya." So-hee smiled. Yuri was stunned by the sudden rush of information. He tried to process all of it and crammed it inside his mind. "Yuri, Yuri Adams...My in game name is Yurian." "You''re that Yuri Adams! I knew you looked familiar." So-hee yelled, inviting the people on the cafe attention. "Shhh!!!" "Oh...Hehehe..." So-hee covered his mouth and chuckled. "If that''s all I''m going to take my leave Ms. So-hee." Yuri can''t stand the crowd staring at him and decided to excuse himself first. "Hey! Wait up!" So-hee paid her bills and rushed, following Yuri to the parking lots. She bombards Yuri with tons of question. Even though she knew Yuri identity, all she asked were about the game and nothing about him. She''s addicted, is this the new virus...He had a headache dealing with So-hee, in all of his life experiences, he never met someone like her, but, it''s not like he hated it, in fact, he felt close and natural talking to her. "I''ll contact you in the game! Wait for me okay!" Chapter 9 - Jareds Cave The moonlight glow, made the world looked surreal. The veiled mist swayed gently by the touch of the wind accompanied by the howl of wolves as if praying to the moon goddess, Selene. She was the epitome of a tragic destiny. Shunned bearing the cursed mark of Argus, dragged away by her own brothers and chained inside the moon, even her lover was separated from her, the Sun Helios. The world was cruel to her, fate was cruel to her, even her destiny rejected her. She cried for millennia, cursing her fate, cursing her brothers, and cursing herself for being weak. She was immortal, but what is the use of being one when even her freedom was robbed from her. Rather, that was like a curse for her, and so, she closed her eyes. Hoping to forget everything, hoping to live a different reality, hoping to have her freedom. She was in a dream, with her dream, the people of Fantasia can have their dreams, away from the torture known as fate.
- Avatar''s Found -
- Logging in -
Woosh The Stonehelm castle looked so tranquil at the distance, gone the commotion from yesterday. Yuri was standing near the lake banks, where he logged out the last time. "It''s nighttime again? Hmm...My predictions were wrong then." Grumble He felt his stomach churned and stirred from the inside, his satisfaction bar was flashing red stating the emergency situation. "I need to eat! Anything will do! S*it!" He said, as he walked deeper into the Stonehelm forest. The forest was pitch black, and the only source of light was the grace of the goddess in her dream state. Yuri treads his path carefully, not to alert his game. A rabbit pranced in front of him. The little creature didn''t see Yuri yet, busy munching the grass in front of it. Yuri licked his lips, this is the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, he muttered inside his mind. The rabbit was oblivious until it was too late, Yuri jumped, but at the same time, a wolf jumped from the opposite direction. If the rabbit can talk maybe he will curse out loud for his fate. Fate was cruel, even the goddess that reign over that was deemed wicked in this world. Fortuna, the oldest of them all. Her beautiful countenance betrayed her personality. All she didn''t deem useful were cast aside, shunned, and tortured by her cruel fate. Taboo was the right word, never made a deal with fate. Sadly they can''t escape from it either. ---- "Grrrr..." "You f*ck, you took my food now you''re growling at me, let''s fight then!" His eyes turned savage, he wasn''t like this before but the situation forced him to. There''s no difference between him and wolf, the two were fighting for survival, it''s either him, or the wolf. The wolf was wary of Yuri movements, it showed its fang as if to intimidate, shockingly Yuri did the same. They stared at each other for a second, but the wolf became impatient and jumped towards him. Yuri was ready, his minds were ready, and the opportunity had come. "Awoo..oo.o.o..o...." Blood dripping from his hands, if someone saw his state right now, maybe they will be petrified by the fear-inducing sight. His eyes were glowing, and his muscles were lit by the moonlight, while the crimson color shined as it dropped into the ground. The wolf body didn''t dissipate as quickly as the goblin''s body. This was because the meat can be used for cooking and the furs can be used to make clothes, and as for the goblin''s, it was because of its type, the humanoid creatures, because the company didn''t want to deal with the controversial stuff. --- "I''m so happy!" Yuri grinned, "I washed the meat just like Lillie said, and the fire was ready, thank god I was in boy scouts in my school''s day." He was smiling from ear to ear, with the meat skewer in his hand. Slowly the meat turned brown and the juices were dripping down to the fire making a sizzling sound. "Mhmm...Delihious" The satisfaction bar slowly rising little by little, and finally came full before it disappears.
- Well fed, +1 STA, lasts for 1 hour. -
---- Done with his meal, Yuri stretched his body, he felt refreshed and even got a buff for it, and now he must find the cave Lillie told him to go. Jared''s cave. The players that have been to the cave said that an old man lived there, accompanied by skeletons and imps. The old man asked strange questions to the players, they speculate that the old man was a quest giver, but nobody had accepted one yet, besides the experience that they got inside the cave were much higher than a quest reward, so they ignored the old man altogether.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Yuri wanders the forest without direction, he just blindly walking. As he navigated his way, sometimes he was ambushed by the monsters here and there, with the main culprits are wolves and foxes. Not wanting to experience starvation ever again, he amassed the meat he got from the monsters inside his inventory, and at the side he got some furs too. But, the quality is so bad even bad is still better compared to what he had. The furs will not fetch a good price, and that is assuming that the merchants even interested in buying that. This was because he''s done it without the right tools, the right skills, and only used his brute strength to rip it from its flesh. ---- The night deepens, for two hours already, he walked mindlessly through the forest, and he even got a status upgrade, after being ambushed by so many times. Yuri was getting frustrated, "Where is this damn cave anyway! I''m pretty sure I covered all over the forest by now." His voice echoed through the lonely forest. "It''s back there, young man." "HUH!" He was startled and as a response, he ready his stance. "It''s back there I said." The night was solemn, and Yuri saw an old man standing behind him with his face lit by the moonlight. He looked lonely, with his arched back, and wrinkled face. His white hair covered most of his shoulders, and the green robe he wore turned pale by the course of time. Yuri also saw the old man pointed his wrinkled hands towards the south of the forest. He was still wary at the old man and didn''t even put down his stance. He learned from his experience no matter what age never trust a stranger you met at a strange place. "Don''t be so hostile young man. I''m here just to take a stroll along the forest." "..." "I see...Let me ask you a question first, before I leave, young man." The old man smiled. "..." "Have you ever loathe looking at your fate?" His heart was beating faster. What is this? Did he know about my past? No! This is a game, maybe that was his typical question...Then what answer shall I give? The truth, or his truth. In the end, he chooses to stay true with his heart, even though it''s just a game, he felt sentimental towards the question. "Yes..." "Oh...But, aren''t you living happily now?" "Because I worked hard for it." Yuri said with his determined eyes. The old man chuckled, "Good answer. Don''t let fate control your life young man." After saying his word, Yuri saw the old man vanished within the depth of the gloomy forest. He was puzzled by the remark. Just who is that old man? He questioned in his minds. He shook his head not to dwell further into it, and head towards the direction that the old man gave. Jared''s cave entrance was covered by moss and roots. No wonder he can''t find it all this time. It was perfectly camouflaged into the surroundings, if it was daytime maybe he will have luck finding it, but it''s different when the only lighting source was the stars and the moon. To his surprise, the old man was telling the truth all this time, and now he felt like a bad person, for not believing the old man even just a little bit. Yuri braced himself and walked into the pitch black cave. The inside was like a long corridor the size of a human male. The walls were damp by the rainwater, and the floors were mostly mud and roots. Five minutes passed as he walked through the cave corridors, finally, at the distance, he finds a source of lighting. Yuri squinted his eyes to get a clearer look, while his feet still moving at the same pace. "Wow...This place is huge...It''s like a hall under the grounds..." The place was as big as a stadium in the real world. Big pillars stood one after another, intricate design covered all of its sides. Two statues of a knight holding its sword that was pointing towards the ground decorated each side of the halls. While in the middle of it a big fire pit illuminates the whole place, burning brightly as if to scorch the world in its wake. Yuri was standing in front of the fire pit, facing a stone tablet, which to his surprise, he can read the words written in there. "Blah...Blah...Blah...Adventurer''s, this is a place of trials. The path shall be opened when you state your name." As expected, Yuri skipped the history part, and only read the part where he finds was important. The instructions were clear, he just needs to state his name before the dungeon door opened. He took a breath and clears his mind. "Yurian." The ground shook, as if a big mechanism were moving beneath him. Slowly the gates at the north of the hall opened, showing a path for him. Yuri moved his feet towards the path, with every step he took a blue fire lit beside him. It was magical. Even though he already saw this kind of scene in a movie or in any other fantasy game, he still can''t hide his amazement, looking at it in real time with his own eyes. Bam! The giant door where he came from shut tight. His path of retreat is closed shut. There''s no going back now, either he died and revived at the closest town, or survive and get his level.
- Jared''s Cave -
In the middle of his eyes, the place name briefly appeared. The place was like a maze, one corridor after another stretched across the distance. The haunting atmosphere sends shivers to the spine. Crackling noise can be heard from where he stands. Skeletons appeared one by one from the grounds, disturbed from their sleep and now they seek revenge. Yuri scrutinized the incoming skeletons. They were slow but they came in a group, if he were to fight recklessly, he will lose his stamina and be surrounded when he can''t move. The only way to defeat them while conserving his stamina was to defeat them at the same time. But, he didn''t have any area of effect skills in his repertoire, Yuri racked his brain. Is there any collision damage in this game? No use wondering about it, let''s just try it first. Before he rushed into the skeletons he didn''t forget to put his only buff first, the [Lion''s Roar]. As he roared his body felt energized even more with the status buff, but, the secondary effect didn''t affect the skeletons even at the slightest, because they''re already dead anyway, what more is there to fear about. Yuri approached the group of skeletons, and threw a punch towards the nearest skeletons in front of him, he angled his punch perfectly towards its head, hoping that it will collide with the other skeletons. Crash! His experiments worked, there is a collision damage inside the game, the skeletons that he punched in the head crashed towards the other skeletons, making it falls like a dominos. He also saw the health bar of the skeletons dropped into halves of their initial health after collapsing with each other, and the one that he punched was down to one-third of its health. To clarify, these results were because of the buffs and equipments that Yuri had. Basically, his buffed stats added with his equipments were already enough to contend against monsters ten levels above him, but, with an added risk, that he will die in one hit. And also, a regular newbie can only dream to get rare ranked items that Yuri had in the early levels, usually they would equip the training weapon they got from training halls or the common ranked weapons that they got from the vendors. They also wouldn''t have the locked skills that Yuri had acquired, usually, they would only have basic passive skills, like weapons mastery, or even the basic life skills, like skinning, fishing, or lumbering. Therefore, it''s best if they didn''t see this situation where Yuri soloed Jared''s Cave. Maybe, if they see this sight, they will grit their teeth and left the game just to lament at their unfair conditions. ---- "Well, isn''t this easy then." Yuri grinned looking at the results, he cracked his hands and continued his onslaught. Chapter 10 - Disjointed Party (1) Ring Ring Ring
- Incoming call from Unknown -
Answer Decline
"Answer!" ---- --- -- - "WHAT!!" "Geez¡­You don''t have to yell¡­" "I CAN''T HELP IT!! THIS DAMN SKELETONS DIDN''T KNOW WHEN TO GIVE UP!!" Jared''s Cave, a dangerous dungeon even for a seasoned adventurer. It was designed for a three-man party with an average level of six. This was because of the sheer numbers of monsters inside it are staggering, combined with their clustered spawn points, will make even the three-man party have a hard time if they didn''t focus. Yuri, of course, was oblivious to the requirements, and came inside alone because of the suggestions of his sister. At first, it was doable, because the skeletons came in a small group, but, as he ventured deeper inside the dungeon, the skeletons he fought came in a greater number and seemed like there''s no end for it. For four hours straight, he fought the same monsters again and again. His level and stats rose rapidly, but at the same time, his stamina was depleting the longer he fought. Even though with each level increase, his stamina came back to full, the amount he used for fighting the relentless assaults of the skeletons, were not equal to the levels he acquired, and now he was fighting with the risk of immobilization if the situation didn''t improve. "Where are you anyway?" "JARED''S CAVE!!¡ªF*CK!! THAT STRIKE ALMOST KILLED ME!! TAKE THIS YOU PIECE OF S*IT!" "Looks like you''re in trouble¡­" "WELL NO SH*T SHERLOCK!!" Yuri stamina was almost depleted, he decided to run away and hide near the dungeon entrance. His all-out effort was futile, this was because when he defeats one skeleton, ten more will come charging towards his face. He defeated the ten, twenty more will come, he also defeated the twenty, and thirty will come, it''s just like an endless cycle. ---- Yuri crouched in the corner near the entrance, just behind the big pillars on the first hall. "This dungeon is making me crazy!" "¡­Looks like you''re having fun in there." "You''re stupid." "Wha¡ª" Ring Ring Ring "Answer!" ---- "Hello? Hello? Hello?" "I can hear you just fine." "Who is that Yuri?? And that sounds like a girl?? Is that your girlfriend??" "She''s just an acquaintance I met today¡­" Felix was puzzled by the answer, that was because according to his memory, Yuri said that he was going home, and not meeting some people, especially girls. Felix felt the emotions risen up to his head, "You''re a bad liar, you know that! You said before, you''re going straight home! And now, here''s a girl that came out of nowhere and she''s playing a game with you all of the sudden!! But, I didn''t get mad because of that, because I''m not that kind of person, to get jealous for my brother relationship, but, I''m mad at you because you didn''t tell or even take me when you''re meeting a girl, I thought you''re my family Yuri, but who knew, you''re a traitor all along. Che." He fumed. "¡­" Yuri had his energy seeped out from his body just by hearing Felix lengthy speech. He decided not to open his mouth, because he knew it''s going to be worthless anyway. So-hee chuckled after hearing Felix preach, the scene was comical and she felt refreshed hearing that. ---- "Where are you?" So-hee asked. "¡­Jared''s Cave." "Hmm¡­Okay. I''ll be there in five minutes, wait for me okay." "Sure." Felix was fuming with anger, after hearing the two conversated with each other, without having the slightest intention, to include him within it. And also, his last statements were ignored and thrown into the trash can, like it''s a waste of breath just to respond to that. "OH! I see! You ignored mine and answered her question instead¡­I see how it is now¡­Fine¡­That''s fine¡­That was expected¡­Since you''re a traitor after all. Hmph." Felix said sarcastically, and sulked after. "Sigh¡­You''re such a kid." Yuri retorted. "I am a kid! What now huh?" Felix countered. "Grow up!" "I will! But not now!" "That doesn''t even make sense! And what do you want me to do huh?" "I don''t know, maybe, APOLOGIZE!" "FINE! I''M SORRY! HAPPY?" "YEAH!" "¡­" "¡­" "¡­Hahaha." The two laughed at the same time. They haven''t had this type of conversations in a long time. Most of the time, the talk they had was about the company, marketing strategies, or something related to that. But, thanks to this game they can let go some of the stress and just have fun inside it. So-hee on the other hand, keep her mouth shut, afraid to make the situation becoming more chaotic with her addition in it. So, she just listened closely. At first, she felt awkward, but after hearing more about it, she let out a little chuckle. It was cute and heart-warming at the same time. Done with their laugh, Yuri let out a smile and asked, "Right. Where are you, Felix? Stonehelm?" "Yeah." "Hmm¡­So that''s where everyone started, huh¡­" "Not everyone, it''s just where the human races starting zone." So-hee finally chimed in. "I see¡­You''re at Stonehelm too, right? Ms. So-hee?" "Uh-huh." So-hee nodded, but realized that it was a voice messenger, "Yes." She clarified. "Great. Felix, you can follow her here. She knew more about this game, than you and I¡ªOh! I almost forgot to introduce her. She''s Ms. Yang So-Hee, her in-game name is Kiya, is that right?" "Yep. And please drop the honorifics, you can call me So-hee if you want. Hehe." So-hee chuckled, she was happy with the fact that Yuri remembered her details. "You hear that Felix¡ª FELIX!" "HUH? UH! Yes?" Felix was startled. "Sigh¡­This is why you''re getting dumped all the time." "Ugh! Why must you bring that up, besides, I''m not looking at girls or anything¡­" "You''re an idiot¡­Anyway, find her!"The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "Yes, sir! And nice to meet you Ms. So-hee, I''m Felix, Felix Farley." "Nice to meet you too Mr. Felix. I''ll be waiting in the training halls then, see you there Mr. Felix, and Yuri I''ll drop the call first okay! Meet you later." - Unknown dropped the call - "Looks like she''s interested in you." "Shut up! Just go find her already!" Yuri ignored the idea and scolded instead. "Okay, okay! Geez¡­You''re just like my mom¡­" "If you''re still talking, I swear by Lillie''s name that I''m going to tell aunt Sophia, that you''re playing with girls left and right!" "NO! YURI! OKAY!! I''M GOING!!" Felix panicked while imagining the outcome, because he knew that Yuri really means it, if he swears by his sister name. - Unknown dropped the call - ---- The skeletons are still patrolling near the entrance, thankfully, they didn''t get aggroed by sound, if they were, maybe Yuri will be dead already for talking with Felix and So-hee. He was still hiding in a crouched position, behind one of the pillars in the first hall. His stamina slowly regenerated to its previous state. While waiting, he decided to might as well munch on the leftover roasted meat from before, killing two birds with one stone. Ten minutes passed and his stamina already back to full, but, he still didn''t move from his hiding spot. He decided to wait for the two before resuming his fight. He browsed his mailbox once more to find a suitable equipment''s for his avatar. His finger scrolled up and down through the never-ending list of mails, and found several items suited for his level. ----
Scarred Leather Mask
Mask made of wild boar leather, quite durable.
Rare | Durability: 60/60 |1 Defence, +2 VIT, +1 Poison Resistance. Requirements: Level 5 and Above.
Deep Black Leggings
Leggings that have been exposed to minor darkness energy, slightly cold when worn.
Rare | Durability: 50/50 | 5 Defence, +3 AGI, +2 Dark Resistance. Requirements: Level 6 and Above.
Crimson Cloth Footguards
Crafted and baptized by the blood of wolves, the footguards gave out a slight savage aura.
Rare | Durability: 50/50 | 3 Defence, +2 AGI, +2 STA. Requirements: Level 5 and Above.
- Inventory full. Automatic item pick-up disabled. -
---- Yuri was startled by the announcements, he didn''t know that his inventory had a space limit. His finger moved and checked his inventory right away. 13x [Rotten Bone], 5x [Raw Wolf Meat], 8x [Bone Dust], 3x [Worthless Wolf Fur], 2x [Worthless Fox Fur], 4x [Burnt Ash], [Scarred Leather Mask], [Deep Black Leggings], and [Crimson Cloth Footguards]. Mostly the items in his inventory, were the items that he acquired from defeating the skeletons, some of it were useful for alchemy, such as, [Bone Dust] and [Burnt Ash], while the rest are mainly loots that didn''t have price, or just trash in general. Well, at least the merchants will buy it for one coppers, just to pity at him. The items are automatically stacked within the inventory, and, for the player''s convenience, it also has the auto sort functions, but, the only downside of his inventory is the size, it was incredibly small, ten slots and its full already, even a backpack had a bigger size than that. Thankfully the inventory is also can be upgraded at the nearest mage association. Of course, it will not be free, no such thing is free in this world, either it was a sample, or it was simply a scam. The mages will upgrade it depending on the ranks of the inventory, to upgrade it, they will ask to either pay with money or rare items, or even both if they''re greedy enough. The prices will depend on the locations of the mage associations itself, so it was suggested to take one in a major city, not in a wilderness somewhere, unless they wanted to get scammed then that''s fine too. Luckily for him, the mage associations offered a free inventory upgrade for adventurers with a common rank inventory, but, unfortunately, Yuri was unaware of that, if he knew, maybe he will go to the mage associations inside Stonehelm immediately, after he just arrived there. He shook his head and decided not to dwell much into it, instead he focused himself equipping his newly acquired equipment''s, with his level that barely met the level requirements. "Avatar Status." ====
Avatar Info
Name Race Gender
Yurian Human Male
Professions Alignments Reputation
None Neutral 0 (10 Infamy)
Avatar Level : 6
Health 320 Mana 110
Strength 17 +5 Agility 21 +9
Stamina 15 +2 Vitality 14 +2
Wisdom 11 Dexterity 14 +3
Charisma 11 Intellect 11
Luck 2 -
Resistance
2 Dark Resistance 1 Poison Resistance -
- - -
Physical Attack : 31
Magical Attack : 0
Hand Off-Hand
Bandit''s Grasp (+3 STR, +2 AGI, +2 DEX) Bandit''s Grasp (+3 STR, +2 AGI, +2 DEX)
Defense : 22
Head Scarred Leather Mask (+2 VIT, +1 Poison Resistance) Shoulder -
Body Jerkins of Relentless Power (+2 STR, +2 AGI) Back -
Legs Deep Black Leggings (+3 AGI, +2 Dark Resistance) Foot Crimson Cloth Footguards (+2 AGI, +2 STA)
Accessories Silver Bangle (+1 DEX) Accessories -
Trinkets - Trinkets -
Guild
-
Territories
-
Passive Skills
Fist Mastery [Lv.2]: ATK+8% Using Fist Weapons. Will of Steel [Lv.1]: STA+3%. Swift Movements [Lv.3]: AGI+10%. Silent Steps [Lv.1]: Muffled movements when crouching.
Active Skills
Lion''s Roar [Lv.1]: Buff the allied party with +10 STR and +10 STA, also inflict fears to the nearby enemies. Lasts for 1 Minute | Cost: None | Cooldowns: 10 minutes | Not stackable with another Roar skills.
==== Yuri was baffled looking at his agility stats, it''s even higher than his strength stats. No wonder he can escape the skeletons onslaught easily there. This was because of his playstyle, he tends to dodge the attack of the enemy and counter it, instead of creating the opportunity himself by actively attacking. The system calculated all of that, and distributed the rewards based on his performance. Chapter 11 - Disjointed Party (2) Yuri was ready with his new equipment''s, the black leggings that looked like a tightly wrapped leather covered his legs, while the red lined footguards covered most of his feet and some of his heels, and lastly the mask covered half of his face, with its deep brown color, decorated with a scar line on the left cheeks side. If someone would see his equipment''s, they will kill him right away and robbed him clean, even level forty players would still be envious looking at his equipment''s, normally, players at his level would still be equipped with the regular leather armor with a common ranked quality. They would be thankful, with just having a full set of common ranked quality equipment''s, and as they leveled up, one or two uncommon items would accompany them towards level twenty. Uncommon items were still quite rare in that level, but not too rare as they progressed further, this situation will continue until they''ve reached level fifty-five. As they reached that level, they will see one or two rare ranked items inside their equipment''s tabs, but only if they were lucky enough. Yuri felt uneasy wearing the leather mask, he felt a little bit suffocate by it, his finger scrolled through the system''s configuration. He remembered when he played WoW, there is an option called hide helmets, but in this game configurations options, he didn''t see the options he''s looking for. Maybe voice commands would work? "Mask off."¡ª Nothing happened. "Headpiece off." The system responded and taken off his headgear. Yuri checked his stats and found out that the commands also removed the gear from his equipment''s tabs. He sighed, and decided to wear it only when he''s out grinding. ---- Ring Ring Ring "We''re here. Form a party and invite us." So-Hee sweet voice reverberated through his ears. Form a party? How? Voice commands maybe? "Form Party." Tring ===
- Party Formed -
=== In the corner of his left eyes just below his health and mana bar, a text can be found that said the number of people in his party, which for now only said one. "How do I invite you guys?" Yuri asked So-Hee, that still connected to him. "It''s the same as you formed up a party, just say ''Invite'' then say our name." So-Hee explained. "Got it, and what''s Felix in-game name?" Yuri remembered that he didn''t even ask Felix in-game name yet. "ElSensual¡­" So-Hee answered reluctantly. "You''re joking, right?" "No¡­" "*Sigh*¡­He''s a little weird¡­So don''t mind it too much." Yuri can''t imagine how embarrassed So-Hee must be, walking outside of the town with someone with the name ElSensual, which means the sexy one in Spanish. If he was there instead of her, maybe that''s not a big deal, but, So-Hee was a woman, and how humiliating that must be. Yuri sighed, people must think that she''s weird too, I felt sorry for her. Tring ===
- Kiya joined your party -
- ElSensual joined your party -
=== Seconds after Yuri saw the front door hallways lit up, revealing a man and a woman that walked side by side. The woman was equipped with a brown leather armor that covered her long red dress. A square leather shield the size of her torso was strapped on her back. She was no different from her real self, a beautiful young woman with a flowing brown hair complimenting her brown eyes. The man wore a white robe with a flowing scarf on his neck. His hair was blonde in color, it was short and parted to the side, covering half of his face. The blue jeweled eyes he had glinted with expectations. Crackle The skeletons that were patrolling the first hall, saw the silhouette of the two and charged towards them. Yuri saw all of it happening and rushed himself towards the same direction. "GET READY!! THEY''RE COMING" The voice traveled far and reached their ears. So-Hee, already experienced in the game armed his shield and put it in front of her, while Felix, startled by the sudden yell, panicked and hide behind So-Hee, it was understandable because he just played it today, and already surrounded by packs of skeletons. Yuri agility finally showed its charm, he ran past the group of skeletons and arrived beside the shielded So-Hee. The skeletons crackled their teeth, as if it was a signal to begin their assault.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Bang The first hit had been delivered, it was from the skeletons that arrived in front of So-Hee. She raised her shield and blocked it, not finished with it yet, she skilfully deflected it towards the ground which makes the skeletons fall head first towards the floor. Yuri saw the opportunity and delivered a deadly blow towards the back of the skeletons head. The skeletons head cracked and dropped several items on its dead body, which were mostly a trash loot. When in a party the automatic loot system was disabled. This was to prevent unfair loot allocations between the party, which is one of the major reasons that a fight between the party members. To be honest, the company could make a system which makes a fair loot distribution, but, they lacked the ambitions after making the AI systems, the so-called masterpiece of this game. In the end, they just slapped this old-school systems and hoped that the players would sort them out themselves. Felix watched the heated fight from a distance, he was shaken to the bone, cold sweats rolled towards his back. Wh¡­What is this¡­This looks so real¡­He thought in his minds. "FELIX!! DON''T JUST STAND THERE!! IT''S JUST A GAME!!" Yuri berated at the idling Felix. He was startled by the shout. Yeah, It''s just a game! No need to be afraid. Felix slapped his cheeks and took a deep breath. "HEAL!!" Felix shouted out his determination. So-Hee that been struggling by the skeletons onslaught, had her health bar going upwards, while Yuri, on the other hand, smiled after hearing Felix resolute shout. ---- The trio fought for three hours just to clean up the first hall from the skeletons. They looked exhausted and their breathing was ragged, but in their face didn''t look disappointed, instead, they were full of smiles. Yuri dropped to his knees, trying to catch his breath. He had been in this dungeon for six hours in total, it was exhausting but the level he got were quite decent. He can feel his body becoming stronger, although it''s just a numerical value, he still felt that this was his own power. The group rested close to each other, they adjusted their breathing while recovering some of their stamina and mana. Yuri was curious, why Felix already got his class, while he still hasn''t got a clue how to get one. He wasn''t that curious with So-Hee though, that was because she''s already played longer than he did, and probably got more information how to get one. Didn''t want to let the curiosity rot in his mind, Yuri asked towards Felix, "Felix, how do you get your class?" Felix was still daydreaming, probably thinking about the fight that he just experienced. He was startled and looked towards Yuri with a blank face, "Huh?" "How do you get your class?" Yuri asked again. "Oh! I choose it in the avatar creations, why?" "No, nothing¡­" He was shocked by the answers, so that''s why the low leveled players in the town have their own class already, and I didn''t go through the same process, as they did. His avatar was created by his sister and by the time he played Emperor''s Destiny, he was left with an already established avatar. So-Hee, on the other hand, heard the conversations between the two, she perked her ears and listened closely. Why did Yuri ask such questions, she asked in her minds. "You didn''t have a class, Yuri?" So-Hee asked. Yuri lost in his thought were startled by the questions, "Y-Yeah¡­Can I still get a class even though I didn''t pick one in the avatar creations process?" He asked, hoping that he didn''t get screwed by her own sister. "You can actually, just go to the adventurer''s guild and asked for a class change." So-Hee answered. "Really¡ª" Yuri''s eyes sparkled. Not letting Yuri finish his sentence, So-Hee interjected with another information, "But. There''s another way to get a class. First, let me tell you about the class differentiation. The class were divided into two, the first is the general class, such as warriors, mages, healers, and so on. This can be obtained at the adventurer''s guild, and the avatar creations. The second, is a unique class, you can get this from a certain quest or a certain affinity with the NPC class holder." Yuri listened closely to the precious information, he crammed it into his minds afraid to forget it the next day. But, after listening to the explanations, his minds became puzzled, isn''t that mean the general class is s*it compared to the unique class? Not letting the thought dwell inside his mind for too long he asked So-Hee right away. So-Hee answered as soon as Yuri asked that question, as if it was already prepared inside her minds. "Not really, every class had its own strength and weakness, it''s just a matter of preferences anyway, and don''t forget that the class can also evolve into a higher class with their unique traits, so there''s no bad class only bad players. As for the unique class, it''s only advantage is more stats bonuses, or the rare one came with its own unique traits." Enlightened from the influx of information, he asked again, "So, what''s your class Ms. So-Hee?" "I''m a shield maiden, and just call me So-Hee." So-hee pouted her lips. Felix was back to reality, and also listened closely at So-Hee explanations. But, after hearing the last sentence, he grinned. Yuri, on the contrary, was lost in his thought, and ignored So-Hee last sentence. He looked towards the grinning Felix and asked, "You''re a priest right, Felix?" "Yep." Felix answered. "I need to get my class as soon as possible then¡­" Yuri muttered to himself. The group stayed for another five minutes before venturing deeper inside the dungeon. Yuri was the first one to get up from his seat, followed by the rest after. Just about to take his first step, he remembered that he got an excess equipment''s in his mailbox. He halted the party and told them to wait. ''Lillie you''re fine with this, right? Well, Lillie, think of it like an investment for your kingdom¡­'' Yuri reassured himself. His finger swiped quickly, navigating through the convoluted mailbox. Felix and So-Hee were puzzled by Yuri actions, and decided to wait, curious with the outcome. "Right. What''s your level Ms. So-Hee?" "Can you just call me So-Hee! And I''m level 10. Hmph." So-Hee pouted her pink lips once more. Felix watched So-Hee reaction from the side and can''t hold his laughter, but knowing that it will incite a calamity upon himself, he covered his mouth with his hand, ''That girl is desperate. Hahaha.'' Yuri once again ignored the poor girl plea, and only hear what he wanted to hear, "Right, and you Felix?" He asked. Tears flowed in Felix''s eyes, he took a deep breath to calm himself and finally answered, "Three." Yuri brings out seven pieces of equipment''s from his inventory. He gave out the plated type equipment''s for So-Hee, because she is the tank of the party. He gave her a shield, a breastplate, leg guards, and a gauntlet. As for Felix, he gave him a staff, a robe, and boots. So-Hee was flabbergasted by the presents she got, not only it was a rare ranked item, but it also came with a physical resistance option too, although negligible, it was an option that she never had seen. On the contrary, Felix, didn''t get startled or even shocked by the items he got, and equipped it almost instantly. "I-I can''t accept this¡­This¡­This is too precious¡­" So-Hee felt uncomfortable accepting the sudden gift. "Just take it. I''ve got tons of it." Yuri assured. "Yeah, just take it. He''s never given out things, that didn''t have a backup." Felix chimed in. "Uh¡­Thank you¡­" So-Hee felt his cheeks reddened and hung her head low. "Yeah." Yuri smiled. Yuri saw the silver breastplate fitted perfectly with the red dress that So-Hee wore, completed with her flowing brown hair that made the sight looks quite stunning. While on the side, Felix was admiring himself, equipped with his new robe that was green in color, decorated with gold linings that made him looked like a noble. ''I''ll admit, she is quite beautiful.'' Yuri admired looking at So-Hee. He let out a sigh and took a deep breath after, he looked at the two once more to affirm that they were ready to set out. "Ready?" He asked once more, to confirm his thought. The two nodded and Yuri ordered, "Let''s go then." Chapter 12 - Last Hall "It''s exhausting..." "I know...Please, bear with it okay, just two and a half months, and then you can come back home." Laid in a white-sheeted bed, with her pale-faced complexion. Yuri held her hand''s tight and stroked her hair gently. All he wanted is to see her smile, the radiant and warm smile that she always had. He would do anything for her, his fortune, and even his life was nothing compared to her. ---- It''s been three days already since Yuri and his party hunted inside Jared''s Cave. The party made a decent progress and were at the last halls of the dungeons. Jared''s Cave consisted of seven large halls, connected through an interlinked long corridor. Each hall was filled with enormous quantities of skeletons inside it, wherein the last halls stood a mini-boss with its giant cleavers. The dungeons were designed to test the player''s endurance, and resources management, it also served as the best place to amass experience earlier on. The dungeons also had its share of bosses, aside from the mini-boss there is also the last boss. The mini-boss didn''t have a much-complicated mechanics, and if the players were observant enough they can dodge the attack of the mini-boss quite easily. After clearing the whole dungeon from the monsters and the mini-boss. Magical influx will start to gather at the last halls and awakened the last boss. The last boss had quite challenging mechanics, where it will chase the players through each hall, also, adding to the challenge, after the awakening of the last boss, the dungeon will start to collapse, and when it hits certain time limits. The halls will be devoured into the void starting from the last to the first. The best strategies for this is to chip away the health of the last boss while at the same time rushing to go to the first hall. Where in there the players would have to kill the last boss just before the dungeon collapses. Basically, the whole dungeons after the awakening of the last boss were changed from a simple dungeon sweep into a time attack. ----
- Avatar''s Found -
- Logging in -
---- Yuri opened his eyes and saw Felix roasting a piece of meat in front of a bonfire. "Where''s So-Hee?" Felix turned his head, away from his slightly brown meat, "Oh, you''re here!" He smiled and continued, "She said she had a practice, and will be little late." Yuri sat beside Felix and turned the roasted meat to the other side, "What practice?" "Dunno." Felix shrugged his broad shoulders. The two chatted while sharing the roasted pieces of meat in front of them. Most of their conversation was about Lillie''s conditions, where Yuri disclosed everything to Felix, not hiding even one bit of it. After going through a thick and thin situation together, the two were as close as real siblings can be, even Lillie considered Felix as her real own brother beside Yuri. The dynamic duo first met at sixth grade. They were a troublemaker in their own rights, and, the day they met was just like a predestined meeting from above. That day, the two crossed their eyes and stared at each other. Both of their minds were telling them, if you lose this person, you''re going to miss something wonderful. At first, the two just chatted casually, learning each other, time passed and the relationship grew. Since then, almost every day they hanged out together, ate together, and even occasionally slept together, just to clarify its just a sleepover. Their bonds were getting stronger with each passing days, that was until Yuri parents passed away. Felix was there at the sibling''s parents funeral, accompanied by his mother, his only family. Felix shed his tears that day, he felt the sorrow that Yuri and his sister experienced. He also experienced that before, when his father passed away when he was eleven. Felix consoled Yuri and Lillie, even his mother felt pity to the siblings. Felix mother also dotted Yuri and Lillie, ever since their visit before both parents of the siblings passed away. After their continuous visit to Felix households, his mother already considered both Yuri and Lillie as her own children, and when both of their parents passed away, she embraced the two, and said, especially to Yuri, ''You always have me and Felix, be strong Yuri, for yourself and especially your sister. Be strong now." That day, Yuri finally shed his tears, not in front of his parents grave, but within Felix mother embraces, Lillie also shed her share of tears, while Felix gripped his hand tight. Resolute with his decisions to help Yuri, his close and only best friend. Fast forward to present day, the two were a billionaire, co-owner of the biggest multi-billion company across the globe. Felix mother also living comfortably, showered with Felix, Yuri and Lillie''s affections. But, there is one thing that she didn''t know, Felix and Yuri didn''t tell her about Lillie''s conditions, that was because considering her age that was almost seventy, they didn''t want her to worry too much, besides Lillie''s conditions were improving better each day.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ---- Time passed while the two chatted away, the person they were waiting for finally came online. Yuri was the first one that turned his head, and saw her gorgeous appearance. He was mesmerized by her countenance, but, the strange thing is, he didn''t have the slightest intention to approach her romantically. He didn''t know why either, he was a straight man, but no matter how beautiful she is, he just felt that she was a friend, and nothing else. This was a mystery that even himself didn''t have the answer. Felix on the other hand, was a playboy extraordinaire, he loved girls, admired them, and even worship them. But, knowing the fact that So-Hee got her eyes on Yuri, he decided to back down, but he didn''t let Yuri know it either. He had a moral code, my girl is my girl, your girl is my girl, except for Yuri girl, that is his girl. Quite confusing, but at the same time, it also makes sense. So-Hee looked took a glimpse towards Felix, and stared at Yuri with a sweet smile plastered over his pretty face, "Sorry for being late hehe, the practice is taking longer than the usual." Yuri smiled back, "It''s okay." Felix chimed after while munching on his roasted meat, "Welp, when Yuri said its okay then its okay. You''re pardoned, young lady." So-Hee glared towards Felix, if her stare can kill, maybe Felix would be dead by now. Yuri just shook his head, and said, "Now that everyone is here. Let''s ready up and go clear the last hall." Felix stood up and stretched his body, "I''m ready whenever." So-Hee took a deep breath to calm her minds and said, "Ready." Yuri lifted up his body and turned it towards the corridors that were connected to the last hall, and ordered, "Let''s go then." ---- "So-Hee! Stop the skeletons on the right! Yuri! Send the skeletons towards that pillars." Felix ordered. Felix took the role of strategist for the group, while So-Hee as the main tank and Yuri as the main DPS and also the leader of the group. The cohesion of the group improved greatly in those three days of grinding and fighting together, their level, stats and skills also improved greatly. So-Hee was the one with the highest level of the group, her levels were ten three days ago and now it was twenty-two, with the addition of her learning new skills on her repertoires, such as [Shield Bash], [Shield Charge], and [Glimmering Presence], her most important skills that taunts nearby enemies, unique to the shieldmaiden class. Yuri was the second highest leveled player of the group, his level was eighteen, but, the most impressive was his growth in skills, his [Lion''s Roar] leveled up to two, that adds +15 STR and +15 STA to himself and his allies. His [Swift Movements] improved to level three, and his [Fist Mastery] was also improved to level three. Sadly, his [Will of Steel] and [Silent Steps] didn''t improve, because he didn''t find the situation where his stamina was exhausted and also there was no need to sneak up upon his enemies. Felix was the lowest leveled player, but it didn''t mean he didn''t improve, in fact, he improved the most than the rest of the group, his level was thirteen, but his [Heal] skills were improved to level three, and he also got another skill that was vital in their group, [Ressurection] and [Divine Blessings]. The first one, was just like its name, to resurrect dead people, while the next was the most valuable blessing they can get. It blesses the targeted players with +10 to all attributes and also makes their attacks have the property of holy, which made Jared''s Cave obsolete. Felix scanned his surroundings, he saw that the skeletons horde were thinning and at the distance, he saw a gargantuan creature coming towards them. "GET READY! HERE COMES THE BIG ONE!" Felix warned. Yuri and So-Hee turned their heads at the same time, taking a glimpse towards the dungeon mini-boss. The mini-boss was a massive skeleton holding a giant cleaver on its right hand. Its eyes were glowing with a blue flame, while at the center of its ribs a giant red crystal gleamed through its hollowed body. Every step it took, the ground shook and tremored. The trio planted their feet to the ground while balancing themselves trying not too fall. If they would fall in this situation, they would be in a serious trouble, not only can they be surrounded by the skeletons, they also can be trampled by the mini-boss giant skeletal foot. "FELIX! REBUFF!" Yuri noticed his status bar that had the blessings and his roar were slowly fading off. "[Divine Blessings]" Felix chanted the spell in succession that aimed for himself and also the two, while Yuri roared at the same time to give them their roar buffs. Felix focused his sight towards the mini-boss and found out the name of the boss. It was Rhevil the Unrelenting Soul. But, it wasn''t the only thing that he found out, he also found out that the boss was ready to whack them into a meat paste if they didn''t move. "DODGE TO THE LEFT!! SO-HEE CHARGE THROUGH THE SKELETONS TO MAKE A PATH!!" Felix roared. So-Hee trusted Felix capabilities as a strategist inside the group, after spending three days grinding together. She raised her shield, she roared and sprinted after to activate her skills. Yuri saw that the skeletons were tumbling towards each other after So-Hee charged. He reacted and followed behind her while keeping Felix close to him. Bang! The ground shook once more, a cavity was made after Rhevil swung its giant cleavers. The only casualty was the horde of skeletons that were standing there, while Yuri group safely dodged to the left side of Rhevil. Yuri saw that Rhevil giant cleavers were stuck inside the ground, he took a glance towards Felix. Felix saw Yuri glance towards him and nodded. "So-Hee! Provoke the skeletons!" Felix ordered. "Got it! [Glimmering Presence]" So-Hee complied. The skeletons charged towards So-Hee and ignored the rest of the group. She blocked and deflected the skeletons onslaught, granted that she took a hit or two, but she wasn''t afraid, because Felix was there watching her back, healing her when necessary. Yuri, on the other hand, rushed towards Rhevil. He jumped towards the cleavers spine and sprinted across it to reach the giant crystal inside its ribs. He wasn''t sure if that was Rhevil weak spot, but, knowing from his gaming experience, normally a big monsters with unique colored parts were mostly a weak spot. Bang! Rhevil let out a cry of anguish. The crystal on its ribs was cracked, while Yuri was freefalling after his first hit. In his freefalling state, he also saw that Rhevil health bar was downed by a third. ''That was easy...'' He thought in his minds while tumbling his body in mid-air to land with his feet. Do mind that their party equipment and stats were abnormal, and compared to normal players, it was like comparing a dung along with a diamond, it''s completely useless and also a waste of time. Rhevil was furious and yanked its cleaver from where it''s buried, Yuri saw the behemoth was charging towards him. He turned his body and sprinted towards So-Hee and Felix. Felix was busy to keep So-Hee alive, but once a while he took a glimpse towards Yuri and Rhevil directions. And, after he saw Yuri ran towards him followed by Rhevil, his minds worked fast, he scanned his surroundings, and deduced the perfect path for them. "WAIT FOR MY CUE!" Chapter 13 - Simple Fight The outer hall grounds quaked, with each step Rhevil took, the mobs of skeletons were either trampled or tumbled down as a result of its blind rage for what Yuri has done to its core. Yuri, on the other hand, outran Rhevil quite easily. Endowed with Felix blessings that greatly buffed his off the charts agility stats. "So-Hee! Wait for it!" Felix roared. Rhevil was getting closer with each second, Felix already got the strategy inside his mind, but the execution of it depends solely on So-Hee and her shield. Sweat rolled down through his pale cheeks. He checked the two for a split second just to take a glimpse on their situation. He saw Yuri charged through the skeletons encirclements, and crushed its skulls along the way to pave a path. As for So-Hee, she already got her circumstances under control with the declining skeletons army. No longer she struggled from the skeletons ruthless onslaught, she calmed her mind and tried to regulate her breath, waiting for Felix next instructions. Bang! Rhevil took a step closer towards the trio. ''One more step...'' Felix calculated in his minds. Yuri finally arrived beside So-Hee and lessened her burden by a great margin, by taking some of the aggro from the skeletons that surrounded her. Bang! "SO-HEE, NOW!! CHARGE TOWARDS ITS LEFT FEET!!" Felix''s eyes glinted with determination. As soon as she heard the call, So-Hee reacted instantly and rammed Rhevil left feet with her [Shield Charge]. The Behemoth lost its balanced and falls to the side. The ground trembled and cracked like a spider web, at the same time, the majority of the skeletons were squashed flat, leaving only fine dust and broken bones, scattered over the last hall. "YURI!! FINISH IT!! [Divine Blessings]!!" Yuri was already running straight towards Rhevil even before Felix shouted his name. He roared to refresh his [Lion''s Roar] buff. Along the way, he also crushed the remaining skeletons that were blocking his path. "GROAAA!!!" Adrenaline coursed through his blood, his brain neurons exploded against one another. Yuri gathers all of his momentum on his right feet, and then kicks it to propel himself upwards towards Rhevil ribs. Rhevil roared nonstop to deter Yuri from climbing up its body. It also tried to lift its gargantuan body, but, unfortunately, the process for it was slow, far too slow. While its big body was its biggest advantage but at the same time, it was its biggest downfall. Yuri climbed the behemoth body and stood in front of its bloody red core. He assumed his stance, and pummelled the core relentlessly, even though Rhevil shook its body constantly, it doesn''t bother him, as if his feet were planted firmly inside its ribs. "Half health!!¡ªA Third Now!!¡ªFINISH IT!!" Felix shouted. CRACK! ===
- Rhevil The Unrelenting Soul Lv. 20 defeated. -
- Experience gained: 150.000 exp -
- Rhevil The Unrelenting Soul dropped [Worn Out Book] -
=== Silent. For a moment the last hall was soundless. Rhevil body was slowly turning to dust. The remaining skeletons didn''t crackle, nor are they moving, it was as if they were mourning for Rhevil fading soul. Yuri still stood on Rhevil dissipating body. Exhaling the air in his lungs to release some of the tension in his mind. He didn''t notice the noiseless environment, instead, he noticed a brown aged book inside the ruined core of Rhevil. His foothold was crumbling, but before he jumped out of Rhevil''s body, he grabbed the book and held it tight, afraid to drop it when he falls. ---- "Nice! That''s the last of the skeletons, now the boss should spawn right?" Felix asked. "Yes, we need to wait a little bit for the magical influx to gather in here." So-Hee clarified. Yuri didn''t talk much, his eyes were focused on the old book that he found on Rhevil''s core. He didn''t know why he was so obsessed with the book, but his minds were telling him, that this book was somehow would play an important role later. "Yuri. Yuri! YURI!" Felix yelled. "Huh?" Yuri woke up from his dazed state. "Come here. The boss going to spawn." "R-Right." Yuri nodded and ran towards the two. So-Hee saw the book in Yuri''s hands, her eyes glimmered and said, "Wow! That book is a mega rare drop from the mini-boss." Yuri turned his head towards So-Hee, "You know what this book is Ms. So-Hee?" "Hmph. Drop the miss and I''ll tell you what it is." She crossed her arms. "Uhh...Can you tell me So-Hee?" Yuri said awkwardly. It was the first time Yuri said her name without the honorifics, it''s not like they weren''t friends, but, it was his habit. Required to conversate and worked with people much older than him, while having only a handful circle of friends, he felt awkward talking to someone without honorifics, and this was the first time after such a long time. So-Hee curved her pink lips upwards, any men would have their hearts fluttered by this femme fatale, when they see those beautiful smile. She was elated as if it was an achievement for her. She didn''t know when was the last time she felt like this. Also, their first meeting was the first time she talked proactively to men. She didn''t know what goes inside her mind that time, even though she liked to talk about Emperor''s Destiny, she has never told it to a stranger before, even when she knew that stranger also played Emperor''s Destiny. It''s like there was a magnet that pulled her towards him. "Hehe...That book is a quest item, try giving it to the mysterious old man in Stonehelm Forest. He will give you some questions but...As I remember there''s no one that answered correctly, so I suggest that you sell it to the auction house, but if you want to try your luck go for it then." So-Hee explained.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Hmm...What do you guys think? Sell it? or try my luck? To be honest my luck isn''t that great." Yuri asked. Well, to summarize his luck. First, he lost his first quest after defeating a massive number of goblins and slew its commander. Second, he was framed for being a thief, becoming a fugitive and can''t appear at Stonehelm unless the Viscount was dead or replaced. Third, he starved for two days while his game was snatched by a wolf even though he killed the wolf that snatched it followed by getting lost inside Stonehelm Forest while trying to find Jared''s Cave. But, at least he got new skills out of it. "Do whatever. I''ll find my own money by getting a sugar mama." Felix said proudly. So-Hee was disgusted by Felix remarks, she hated Felix type of men, only thinking about women all the time, but, after spending three days with him, she understood that he wasn''t a bad person even though he''s a playboy extraordinaire. "I''m fine, you can do anything you want with that book." She smiled. "Hmm...I try my luck I guess...Since we got lots of loot to sell anyway." Yuri decided. ---- Red magical lines appeared one after another in the last hall. The lost soul of the skeletons and also Rhevil were gathered into the middle of the hall. The grounds shook and cracked, in the middle of the hall, a hole was appearing. The souls charged towards the hole as if there was something there calling them. The red magical lines also pierced towards the hole, slowly the whole dungeon shook. From the hole, a bloody red coffin came out. It was sealed with chains and cloth that looks like a bandage that filled with strange words. The trio focused their eyes and ready up their stance, they watched the whole process of the last boss awakening. It was nervewracking, their heartbeat was getting faster by each second. They can feel the dreadful aura the coffin emitted. Seconds passed, the coffin shook and there was a crack on its side. Red light emanating from the coffin side. The crack grew bigger and bigger and then it stopped. Enveloping the entirety of the coffin with a red glowing light. Blood. The coffin turned into blood, the metallic scent filled the air, accompanied with a dreadful laugh. "KAKAKAKA!! Congratulations on defeating my slaves! I applaud for your strength and bravery, but sadly, our meeting is a rather short one. Because you will die and become my next slave! KAKAKAK!" "Well, that was cheesy...After all the suspense, that''s all you''re going to say?" Felix chimed. "A for efforts, not bad, but can be better, keep trying maybe one day you shall end up in the Hollywood." Yuri said after with his serious face. So-Hee was baffled by the duo response, it was her first time seeing anyone mocked the boss after its big entrance. "MONGREL!! YOU DARE TO MOCK ME? THE GREAT LICH NEBELSTEIN!! I SHALL TORTURE YOUR SOULS FOR ETERNITY!! TASTE DEATH MONGREL!!" Nebelstein was an undead lich with great magical abilities. Specializing in curses and dark energy attack. His attack was not that strong but the debuffs it gave were annoying at most. Slowly chipping away the stamina of the victim, and lowering their movements by a great margin. If the party that fought Nebelstein didn''t have a priest or someone that can cleanse a debuff, then consider that party already wiped before its even begun. "[Dark Rays]" Nebelstein attacked first. The black laser rampaged in a horizontal line following Nebelstein index finger. It wasn''t that fast but, if somehow that a player were hit by that, mostly, they will be dead at the next ten seconds, because it had an innate curse that stops the heart of the players after the ten seconds countdown. The trio dodges the rays and became separated from each other. Nebelstein let out rays one after another, from his ten fingers. The last hall quaked by the impact, the whole place crumbled, debris was falling everywhere. Yuri sensed movements from the ground, precisely from the hole in the last hall. From the hole where Nebelstein spawned, a black liquid slowly crawled through while at the same time devouring anything in its path into the void. He knew the circumstances of the last fight in this dungeon because of So-Hee explanations. And already discussed how to deal with Nebelstein beforehand with Felix and So-Hee in the past two days. He scanned his surroundings while dodging Nebelstein laser show. "FELIX!!" Yuri gave the signal. The plan was simple, dodge the first attack. Scatter across the hall to divide Nebelstein attention. Wait for the liquid to come out, and then buy time until the whole room collapses while at the same time push Nebelstein into the void. It was a risky strategy but at the same time, it was the fastest way to defeat and clear the dungeon. The strategy depends solely on Yuri''s hands, because he was the only one that can match Nebelstein speed. Felix heard the yell and saw the signal that Yuri gave, now, all he needs to do is heal Nebelstein. By healing him, it also damaged it because heal was a divine type spell. This is to attract Nebelstein attention towards him. "[Heal]" "ARHGHG!!! IT BURNS!!" Nebelstein felt his skeletal body melting by the divine light that pierced through him. His purple orb inside his ribs were glowing frantically. His purple flaming eyes burned brighter and he charged towards Felix. "GROAAA TASTE MY [Dark Claw]" Nebelstein just about to hit Felix with his attack, suddenly So-Hee appeared in front of him, with her shield raised. "[Shield Bash], [Glimmering Presence]" Nebelstein was stunned for a second, and furiously rampaged after, hitting So-Hee silver shields again and again with his fragile bone hands. When monsters were in a provoked state, they will lose all their abilities to think or cast a spell, but, there is an exception, if the monsters have an insanely high intelligence points or their levels were much higher than the caster, they will be able to shake the provoked state off quite easily. Yuri, on the other hand, were charging towards Nebelstein from its back. He rushed while dodging the black liquid that slowly filled the whole hall. "ARGGHARAGH!!" Nebelstein roared still losing his minds. "Hurry!! I, can''t hold on any longer!!" So-Hee was struggling, even though Felix constantly healed her, the damage output of Nebelstein was much higher than the amounts of heal she got. Yuri arrived behind Nebelstein back, he grabbed Nebelstein floating body and threw it to the ground. BANG! He gritted his teeth, and roared while dragging Nebelstein body towards the middle of the hall. His health were depleting by each seconds, because of the sinister aura Nebelstein emitted. "[Heal]" Felix chanted, "THAT''S MY LAST HEAL!! IF YOU''RE DEAD THEN IT''S ALL YOUR FAULT" Felix shifted all the blame towards Yuri, ''If I''m somehow survived from this, I''m going to make your life miserable.'' Yuri gritted his teeth and pour all of his strength, throwing Nebelstein towards the black liquid. Nebelstein barely got his minds back, and saw that he was flying across the hall, towards the black liquid that was oozing from the hole he made. For the first time he felt fear, but, he can''t stop his body in mid-air either, this was because of his previous state. He lunged towards the black liquid head first, followed by his body. Yuri left in a critical state, his health bar was flashing red, and his stamina completely depleted after the throw. ''Strange...'' He said in his minds, ''Why there''s no notification or something in my logs.'' He looked towards Felix and So-Hee, the two shruggedtheir shoulders, they didn''t know why either. Yuri took a step closer towards the black liquid, and stared at it for a while, trying to get a grasp of the situation. He turned his head again towards Felix and So-Hee, and shrugged his shoulders too. "Let''s go back...I guess?" Yuri suggested. "Yeah, slim chance he will come back after being devoured by that black mess." Said Felix. "Don''t Jinx it." So-Hee added. ---- Yuri felt his legs were yanked, he was startled, and turned his head towards the black liquid. He saw Nebelstein head were floating inside the ooze. "YOUUOUOUU!!! WILL COME!! WITH ME!!!!" Nebelstein roared. Yuri was annoyed, he gathers his last strength and kicks Nebelstein head back into the void, "JUST! DIE! YOU! PEST!" "ARHAJGHAR!!! I''LL CURSE YOU!! I''LL CURSE YOU BY THE NAME OF LADY FORTUNA!!!" Nebelstein roared one last time before finally dying inside the void. Tring
- Nebelstein The Great Lich defeated. -
- Experience gained: 300.000 exp -
- You have leveled up! -
- Strength rises by 1 point. (STR+1) - Agility rises by 1 point. (AGI+1) - Stamina rises by 1 point. (STA+1) - Intellect rises by 1 point. (INT+1) - Wisdom rises by 1 point. (WIS+1)
Will of Steel have leveled up to [Lv.2]: STA+5%.
- Nebelstein The Great Lich dropped [Ring of Lesser Despair] -
- Jared''s Cave cleared. -
Chapter 14 - Change Emperor''s Destiny forum, where everyone discussed everything, from forming up a party, selling items, quest information, or even fanfics about the NPC in there. The hottest thread in there was about the emperor''s candidate ranking. Where the players that had the qualifications to unite the whole world were ranked based on their territories and influence. "Did you see the new ranking?" "No. It''s not going to change anyway. And, you know me, I always rooted for our goddess of victory, Lillian." "Oi! Stay away from my Lillian." "Who are you huh? Did you even knew how she''s looked like?" "I''ve partied up with her before." "You''re just a grunt." "At least I met her, you fck." "You''re wrong it''s changing right now. The sigma guild led by Holster were rising rapidly." "Aren''t they already wiped when DangerNDangerous guild raid them?" "I don''t know the exact details but they''re going strong now, they got a new member that was skillful enough to challenge the heaven''s ranking." "YEET!" Like any forum, the discussion didn''t have any some sort of structure and a mess in general, even with moderators, it didn''t change the fact that the majority in there were trolls. But, if some were meticulous enough, they can get some sort of useful information there. ---- The group finally back to the entrance of Jared''s Cave, the giant door shut tight behind them, blocking the black liquid from entering the entrance hall. The stone tablet in the middle of the entrance hall lit up and the words written on it float in the air, shimmering with blue light. "Congratulations, you have cleared Jared''s Cave." Yuri muttered. Felix and So-Hee also saw the floating words, but they were too exhausted to even take a look at it. Yuri took a glimpse of the duo, his body was torn and tattered by all the fighting he''s done in the dungeon. His equipment''s durability had gone to its critical state as he checked along the way. "What time is it?" Felix asked. "It''s three in the morning, you can see it in your menu by the way." So-Hee answered. "Well, I''m going off first then. Bye." Felix logged out. Yuri heard what Felix said, and wanted to say something but it was already too late, because Felix already got his avatar logged out from the game. ''I haven''t shared out the loot yet...'' So-Hee approached him, finally, the two have some time alone together she thought in her mind. ''Don''t ruin this, this is your first time to get to know each other! So-Hee fighting!'' She chanted encouraging spell inside her mind. Yuri saw her coming and turned his head, "What are we going to do with the loot?" So-Hee didn''t expect this type of question, she didn''t know a lot about men in general but, when a man and a girl are together aren''t they supposed to flirt with each other? This is what supposed to be happening, especially in the Korean drama that she watched all the time. "Huh, eh," She was startled and shook her head, getting rid of her romantic thought, "You can sell it, or, I don''t know? Is there anything useful in there?" "I got the book and the ring that Nebelstein dropped." Yuri took out the item into his hand. "Hmm...You keep the book, as for the ring...I don''t really know what it does?" Yuri gripped the ring and muttered, "Item Status." ===
Ring of Lesser Despair
The ring that Nebelstein had to become a lich, caution, the despair aura is suffocating. Rare | +1 INT, +1 WIS, Active Lesser Despair Aura.
=== "What is it? Is it good? You can flick the description towards me to let me see it too." So-Hee questioned. Following So-Hee suggestions, Yuri flicked his finger towards her and let her see the item description. "It''s a great item. I don''t know that you''re this lucky." Her eyes glimmered. "Shall I give it to Felix then? It''s got +1 INT and +1 WIS." "No. Although it looked goods on a priest, the despair aura will only damage him, because of his innate holy property." "I-I see...You take it then." So-Hee was startled, by the sudden proposal. She has been given so many great equipments and also if she would take the offer, it would make her somewhat like a greedy woman, this is what she thinks in her minds, but Yuri didn''t think too much of it. "N-No. I can''t take any more stuff from you..." So-Hee declined. "Just take it. Consider it...A gift...Yes. A gift for playing with us." Yuri smiled. So-Hee faced got red all of the sudden, "D-Don''t say it like its our last goodbye..." The two chatted for a while, until So-Hee decided to log out and get some sleep. It''s been thirteen hours since they logged in into the game, besides the sense of achievements that they got from clearing the dungeon, they also felt exhausted by the fact they were fighting non-stop.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. So-Hee said her goodbye, and leaving Yuri alone in the dimly lit hall. Yuri seemed to still have some energy left and decided to take a stroll along the Stonehelm Forest. Its night again, he was wondering why everytime he logged in or coming out from a place its always night time. It''s not like he''s some sort of a vampire, that came out only when the moon was out. But, he didn''t think it too much because it doesn''t bother him anyway. The chilling wind shook the trees, he was wandering along just to calm his mind. Also, he was curious about the old man, and the book he got inside his inventory. He kept walking into the depth of the forest, until he found a plateau in the middle of it. The moonlight shone brightly, one or two wolves howl were echoing through the forest. He found himself a place to sit, a big flat rock that looked like it was shining with blue ambiance. He laid his back facing the moon. ''It''s beautiful...'' His thought wanders through, staring at the starry skies, it was a blissful moment for him. A moment of peace, away from his busy daily life. ''Is this the same sky that Lillie always see...I miss her...'' His thought always ended up with his little sister, if only he played this game sooner. He closed his jade colored eyes, the wind and the sound of moving grass were just like a lullaby, caressing him and putting him into a sleep. Minutes passed, Yuri opened his eyes once again, he was greeted once again by the starry skies and the tranquil white moon. "You''re awake young man?" Yuri turned his head, and saw the mysterious old man once again, he wasn''t that startled, because he already anticipated that at any moment he will meet him sooner or later. "Ah. I''m awake now." "Did you find the night peaceful?" "Yes, it''s quite beautiful looking at the starry skies." "Yes. Yes, it is. But, did you find it depressing?" "No..." Yuri was puzzled. "I see, then, what do you think about this world?" He was aware that the mysterious old man always asked a random question, because So-Hee told him before she logged out. He racked his brain, but, knowing that there is no right answer to this, he just goes with his own gut feelings. "I find it quite interesting." "Interesting...Yes, indeed...Do you want to be the emperor young man?" "No. I didn''t have that big of an ambition." "Then what do you want to be?" "...." Yuri paused, and looked towards the skies, "I just want to be a good brother..." "A good brother...Is...A good answer..." The old man smiled, "Give me the book inside your inventory young man." "H-huh!" He was startled, why did the old man know what''s inside his inventory, isn''t he just an NPC. He stared at the old man for a while, trying to read what''s inside his mind. The old man chuckled, "Don''t stare at me like that young man, I knew everything inside your inventory and even your body potential. So give me the book already." Yuri was still in a state of disbelief, but he complied anyway, he took out the old book inside his inventory and gave it to the old man. "Ah...How many times already I saw this damn book...*Sigh*...Rhevil...You''ve been fooled by fate..." The old man muttered under his breath while holding the old book in his hand. Seconds after he turned his face towards Yuri and smiled, "I hope you didn''t make the same mistake as Rhevil did. Now, give me your hand young man." Yuri took a breath trying to bring back his rational minds, he heard what the old man said, and looked at him, "Why? I must know the reason for your action first." The old man eyes glimmered and laughed, "That''s right! That''s what you''re supposed to do. To fight against fate you must question everything. Think for yourself, and make your own decisions!" Yuri was baffled by the old man response, but he just stayed quiet and keep staring at him. "I never laughed this hard in a long time." The old man wiped the tears in his wrinkled eyes, "Now, give me your hand''s young man!" The old man demanded. The winds were raging and the skies were darkened with dark clouds. The sounds of thunder and lightning reverberated across the continents, as if it was angry at something. Yuri noticed the sudden changes in the weather, ''Is the weather system in this game is so drastic that it changes instantly?'' He questioned inside his minds. "Hurry young man! The heavens are watching!" The old man urged. Yuri was puzzled by the old man remarks, ''The heavens are watching? What''s that supposed to mean?''. "I can''t do this without your own volition young man. You better make the decisions now, or else, we''re both going to die in this place." BANG! Lightning struck the nearby trees as if giving a warning for both of them. Yuri was startled, it was so close to him, he can even smell the burning timber inside his nose. His hair was raised, cold sweat rolled down to his back and fear crept up to his minds. ''What is this! This suffocating feeling inside my heart'' "Hurry up!" The old man yelled. Overwhelmed by the fear inside his minds, he gritted his teeth and complied to the old man request by handing over his right hand. The old man grabbed his hands as fast as he could, he yanked it closer towards himself, and chanted some strange language. Yuri felt his hands were burning, it''s like a million ants were gnawing at his hands, nibbling at it pieces by pieces. The fear inside his minds was no more, replaced by the feelings of agony and pain. He roared, "WHAT DID YOU DO OLD MAN!!" The old man turned a deaf ear towards Yuri. The clouds were rolling accompanied by the sounds of lightning and thunder, the winds blew stronger, and the grounds were trembling furiously. "HIASDK SJADIQ JSADLA" A strange voice echoed throughout the air, and traveled across the whole world. Not only Yuri and the old man, but even the players that were still online also heard it, no matter where they are, be it inside the dungeon, inside their private house, or even different dimension, they can still hear it. It was divine, and mystical at the same time. "Huh! What is that?" "Do you guys hear that?" "Is there an event or what?" The players were all puzzled. Even the NPC was puzzled by it, panic and distress spread all over Fantasia, especially the religious sects that worship the gods, they were furiously praying for their safety, and asking for forgiveness. "O'' MIGHTY GODS HAVE MERCY ON OUR SOULS" The head priest prayed with all of his faith, followed with thousands upon thousands of their members. The players who saw all of that was baffled and even shocked by the sight. ---- Yuri and the old man was still standing in their spots, the winds were ravaging their bodies and even lightning and thunder struck down near them. The old man finally opened his wrinkled eyes. His eyes were glowing red. It was horrifying and magical at the same time. Yuri, on the other hand, gritted his teeth tight, holding out his pain, even though it was just a game, the feelings of the pain he felt was as real as it can get. "YOU CAST ME OUT AND ROBBED ME OF MY POWER! BUT NOW! I SHALL HAVE MY REVENGE! YOU TRAITOROUS HEAVENS! SHALL TASTE DESPAIR!" The old man roared. BANG! Lightning struck upon their heads, luckily the old man blocked it with his red magical barrier. He laughed maniacally. Yuri took a glimpse of what happened while still gritting his teeth. "O...LD...MAN!!" Yuri stared at the old man with fury in his eyes. "HAHAHA!! YOUNG MAN!! FROM THIS MOMENT ONWARDS YOU HAVE NO FATE!! YOU BROKE YOUR OWN CYCLE OF DESTINY!! THE HEAVENS CAN''T CONTROL YOU NOW!! BUT THEY WILL HUNT YOU DOWN!!! SO KILL THEM FOR ME!! HAHAHA!!" Tring Tring Tring Amidst his agonizing feeling, Yuri also heard the notifications sound ringing inside his ears. His level rose up rapidly, and his status was increased exponentially, while at the same time the logs he got were updating at a rapid pace. But, there''s one thing that was out of the ordinary, his luck was also decreasing rapidly, further going downwards towards the minus state. The burning sensation in his hands was also reaching its critical points, the small fire burned his hands in a strange manner, drilling it and making the blood in his hands gushed out while at the same constantly being burned, and as a result making an intricate design that looked like a sigil. Yuri roared towards the sky, "O...LD..M..A..N!! Y..OU..B..E.TTER...P..R..A...Y..T..HE...HE...AVE..NS..KI..LL...ME!! IF...NOT!! YO...UR''E..GO...ING..TO...DIE...FIRST!!" Chapter 15 - Conspiracy (1) "What happened!!" "S-Sir, it''s the server..." "Finish the damn sentence!!" "W-Well, it''s overflowing with data, sir...It''s-It''s like...The program is writing its own code..." "What!! Can''t we do something about it? We can''t have a downtime now, not with our financial status!!" It was a busy night for the Emperor''s Dynasty company, especially at the server room. Engineers, programmers, project managers, and even the night shift staff workers were there, they needed every help they can get to appease the situation. One shout after another, panic and distress were a common sight inside there. The project managers were sweating from head to toe, if they were to lose the data in their server, they might as well declare a bankruptcy. And, that was mainly because of his fault even though he didn''t know why either. The project manager was praying as hard as he can, and this was the first time he ever prayed in the entirety of his life, ''Please, don''t let me lose this job.'' The company were in a tight budget, but, that doesn''t mean they didn''t pay their employees, in fact, the company always paid their employees in time, maybe that''s why the workers there were so loyal in the first place. "S-Sir...The server condition is...Coming back to normal...But..." The project manager perked his ears up, "BUT WHAT?" "It''s-It''s leaking through the internet sir...It''s still multiplying...Just like a virus..." "Is it still works??" "Y-yes...But...We can''t make adjustments to it..." "Meaning??" "We didn''t have controls over the game anymore sir..." The project manager felt his head going to explode, the amount of stress he got was off the charts, and his blood pressure rushed towards his brains. He just wanted to faint and forget all of this, but, knowing his responsibility, he took a deep breath. "Okay. Stabilize the conditions first, I''m going to meet the boards of director first thing in the morning and see what step we should take next." ---- The chilly night slowly walked away and replaced by the light of the first rays from the sun. The veiled white scattered away and became a drop of water, signifying the beginning of a new day. "Shias ascas nifkva?" "Yes, our motion has finally begun. Just look at those mortals running around, pathetic. Hahaha." "...Casda nvsasd mincsa asdva??" "Hmm...There''s a slight problem indeed...That man just didn''t know when to give up..." "Nkas nix?" "No, it''s just a vain effort anyway. Let him bask in his fallacious glory, we can deal with him later." "Csacd cxans nixas..." "Haha...Yes, I''m indeed a vile god..." ---- Beep! Beep! Beep! The phone inside his pockets was ringing and vibrating nonstop. Yuri slowly opened his eyes, he saw the dive helmet was still attached to his head. He took it off and tried to get off from the apparatus. One step outside the device, he wobbled and dropped to his knees. He felt nauseated, and also his energy was nowhere to be found. His breathing is ragged, aside from the dizziness he also felt that there was something wrong with his body, and as a result, he vomited. The vomit looked black in color, and the odor of it was unbearable. It''s like he''s throwing out the impurities left inside his body, but, after he did that, he felt his body was slowly regenerating, the lethargic feelings he felt were slowly mended. He grabbed the edge of the dive device, trying to stand up with its help. After he got up within his two feet, he grabbed his head, trying to recall the jumbled memory he got from last night. ''What...Happened...It''s like...The world is spinning...'' Yuri shook his head, he wobbled along the way while stepping on his own vomit that was scattered all over the floor. His destination was the bathroom, intending to give himself some cold water to refresh himself. The sounds of running water echoed through his ears. Somehow, it felt therapeutic to his chaotic minds. He stood there motionless, he closed his jade eyes, taking a deep breath one after another.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Splash The cold water splattered upon his pale face. It trickled down through his long neck, the sluggish feelings he got were no more, his breath was calmed and his heart was beating normally. Slowly he opened his eyes and saw his reflection on the mirror. He was shocked by the sight. His hair was turned into white, his eyes were shaking. "What...Happened..." He turned his head toward his right hand. It was shaking non-stop, while slowly turning to show his palm. His heartbeat was beating faster, contrary to its previous state, his minds were once more in chaos. "Its...Just a game...Why..." Disbelief, he tried to think about it logically, but there is no answer to this. It was otherworldly, magical, and supernatural at the same time. ''If this is real...Then...What is that game...'' He tried to find the answer within his minds. But, the longer he thought about it, the more puzzled he became. He rushed towards the windows and dragged the curtains. To his surprise, nothing was happening in the world, the sun still rose from the east, and the people still busy with their daily life, be it, office workers, owners of a business, celebrities or even housewives were busy with their own schedule. "Everything looked normal...But...Why my feelings told me that something was wrong, somewhere, or something..." His minds were back to its calmed state, he reconciled with his conflicting thoughts, knowing that nothing will change even when he formulates the answer for his situation. "Lillie. I must see Lillie." His body was in a mess, but he didn''t care for it in a slightest, he rushed to his cars and drove towards Lillie hospital. He ran through the hospital hallways, the nurses and the doctors saw him ran past and was puzzled by his actions. At first, they only took a glimpse but somehow, inside their minds they knew who was the one that ran past them, they took a glance again, but nothing came out. --- VIP Room 3. Yuri arrived in front of Lillie''s room, he rushed through all of that hallways, and even took the stairs when the elevators were busy. But, somehow, he didn''t feel tired at all, on the contrary, he felt great, his breathing was fine, his muscle was fine, and his brain was as calm as it can get. He was puzzled by it for a second and shook his head trying not to get stuck in it. He took a breath and opened Lillie''s room. Creak The white bed sheet, the fragrance of fresh flowers, and the warm rays of the morning sun. Yuri can''t hold his tears, she was sitting on her bed, looking outside the windows. Yuri rushed towards her, and hug her tight. Lillie was startled, he was shocked at first, but after she saw the person who hugged her, she smiled. "Wh-What happened big brother??" "N-Nothing..." He said while letting go his embrace, and smiled after. "Y-You''re a mess...OH! Your hair is white? Do you want to be an idol?" "Ah...This...Yes...And no..." Lillie was puzzled by her brother response, ''Is brother in some sort of trouble?'' She thought. "Are you...Dumped by a girl??" Yuri was flustered by Lillie question, "Wh-No. Of course not." He said with his awkward smile. The two were chatting peacefully, and the time passed quickly. Yuri lost in his conversations with his little sister, forgetting everything that happened to him last night. Creak Lillie''s room door opened once more, Yuri turned his head. His eyes were shaken, he was shocked by what he saw from the other side of the room''s door, the familiar feelings. A child, probably twelve in age, his hair was blonde, he wears a black suit and a red tie. Standing on the other side of the door, smiling at him, with his red colored eyes. "Hello, young man." "Y-You..." Yuri was shocked, his feelings were right, somehow, the child reminded him of the old man from the game. That red colored eyes, that smile, and that aura. Lillie was puzzled, she also looked towards the door, and also saw the child, but somehow, that child looked blurry to her. She also felt that something wrong with that child, she shifted her gaze towards her brother, and saw the shock in her brother''s eyes. "Wh-What is happening, big brother..." The child chuckled, "You indeed are a good brother..." Yuri''s face turned serious, "What do you want old man? Haven''t you give me enough trouble already!" Lillie was shocked by her brother response, she clearly saw that the person from the other side of the door was a child, but why her brother calls him an old man instead. "W-Who is that big brother??" Panic can be heard from her sweet voice. Yuri tensed his body, ready to charge at the child if anything bad were to happen, he also ignored what Lillie said, focusing his sight and his minds towards the child. The child moved his little feet, going into the room slowly. Sweat rolled through Yuri''s cheek, while glaring at the child every motion. "You still haven''t changed young man...Maybe that''s why I was fixated with you..." The child chuckled while walking closer towards the sibling''s. Fear. Lillie''s felt fear, it was gripping her heart, she was scared, unconsciously, he grabbed her brother''s hands and gripped it tight. "Don''t be afraid little girl. I''m not here to hurt you. Hehe." The child chuckled. The child stopped his step. He was standing in front of the two, smiling at the two. Snap. Yuri was startled by the sudden snap, he felt Lillie''s grip was lessening in his hands, he panicked and turned his head towards his little sister. She was unconscious, soundly sleeping in her white-sheeted bed. There was fury inside his eyes. Yuri turned his head towards the child, ready to lunge him at any moment. "WHAT DID YOU DO OLD MAN!!" He growled. The child chuckled once more and took a stroll across the room just to arrive beside the windows. "Now, now...Let''s be civilized. No need for violence. I just put her to sleep, that''s all." The child smiled while gazing outside the windows, and continued "What a beautiful world...Sad...It''s going to be ravaged..." Yuri didn''t put his guard down, he was aware that the child was a vicious person, basing on his previous encounter, where he was cheated and dragged into a mess that he didn''t even have the knowledge of. "Just go straight to the point old man. I''m sick of your game!" "Getting feisty now aren''t you, young man. Hehehe." "..." The child turned his body and gazed towards Yuri straight in his eyes with a smile plastered upon his round small face. "Time is short, young man. But, first, your rewards." The child walked closer towards the two, he pointed his small palm towards Lillie body. "[Perfect Heal]" Lillie''s body was filled with divine light, slowly penetrating towards her flesh and repaired her broken cells. Getting rid of her remaining tumors, while at the same time giving her an even stronger metabolism. Yuri had his eyes wide opened, in his minds conflicting thoughts appeared one after another, should he thank the child for healing his little sister, but somehow, there''s a catch for all of this. This situation was too good to be true. "What do you want old man?" He said with his serious face. Although there''s a catch for this, he would gladly take the consequences for this, everything he did right now was always for his sister, even if he would make a pact with the devil to make his sister happy, he would take it with an opened arms. The child stretched his body, "Ah...Just one spell and my mana almost depleted...As expected, this world is the creators greatest creations after all..." After stretching his little body, he smiled, and continued, "Hehehe. Straightforward, I like this personality of yours, young man..." Chapter 16 - Conspiracy (2) "There''s new event''s going on?" "No idea...I just came online this morning." "Can someone tell me what all this commotion about?" "GODS!! THERE ARE GODS IN THE GAME!!" "Yeah, we know that, the lore says that, but what is it?" "Someone online that night?" "ME! I WAS ONLINE THAT NIGHT!! IT WAS LIKE THE GODS WERE SHOUTING!!" "I was online too that night, I''m at the Virtuvius dimension, but I can hear it too." "me too, me too." "Any GM in here?? Do we have any events going on??" "No announcements yet from the company." "GUYS!! DO YOU REMEMBER THE ADS??" "Geez, you don''t have to type in caps." "FCK YOU!!" "Got trolls here boys!" "What? New expansion?" "First!" That morning, the Emperor''s Destiny forums and also the internet was blowing up with this phenomenon. Gaming websites were full of articles that discussed the first possible events of Emperor''s Destiny, after its launch seven months ago. They speculated that the phenomenon was the beginning of the new continents and also new dimension. They also speculated the appearance of the first world boss. In just one hour the game garners publicity like it was a hot butter. The players and game journalist were in a heated discussion, while the company that made the game was racking their brains, how to appease the situation. ---- VIP Room 3. Lillie''s room turned dark because of the sun that was hidden beneath the clouds. The situation inside the room all of the sudden turned gaunt, as the child red eyes gleamed with his smile, while at the same time spreading his dreadful aura across the room. Yuri stood motionless, but his body was still tense by the pressure. Tick Tick Little bits of raindrops trickled on the room windows, accompanied by the sound of thunder and lightning. The chilling sensation started to slither across the room. Slowly, the silent room was filled with the sound of a downpour. The child chuckled, breaking the silence, "I''ll admit. You have a great willpower young man." The child retracted his aura. Yuri felt his breathing was ragged, his body was covered in sweat as he stared at the child. "Stop with your game old man!" The child snapped, his face turned serious, "It''s not a game young man." Terror, it was like his heart jumped for a second, but, instead of surrendering to it, he gritted his teeth and asked, "Then what is it, old man? What mess have you dragged me into? What is that game? And what did you want for me to do?" Bang! Lighting rolled through the clouds, like a dragon roaring towards the heavens. "Easy with your question now, young man. I''ll explain in due time. But, second, is your situation and options." Yuri was frustrated with the child long-winded answer, "What is it?" The child smiled, "As I''ve said before, you''ll be hunted by the gods. Your friends, family, and everything that close to you shall not be spared, they will be treated equally, to set as an example, and also solidifying their positions, as the one that stood above mortals." "OLD MAN!! YOU COMPLICATED MY FAMILY AND MY FRIENDS!!" Yuri lunged towards the child, he can''t hold his piled up fury anymore. Snap! His lunge was stopped, no, he was levitating in the air. He felt his body weightless, but his eyes still emitted the same fury towards the child. "There''s too much anger inside your heart young man." The child chuckled, he knew that it was completely his fault but, instead of apologizing to him, he mocked him instead. The child turned his head toward the windows, looking at the pouring rain. "OLD MAN!!" "Let me tell you a good news. Even when you''re not accepting my offer back then, your family, your friends, and your so-called possessions will all be destroyed anyway. The gods plan already in motion young man." Yuri was startled, the fury inside his heart was slowly subsided as he processed the child statements. His minds were in disarray, one questions after another bombarded his brain, unconsciously he muttered, "Gods plan?"Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "That''s right, sooner or later this world going to be ravaged by that so-called plans." "But- Aren''t that just a game..." He was still in a state of disbelief, even though he got enough evidence that the child was telling him the truth, stated by the fact that he himself got changed because of him and also the one that changed him was standing in front of him. The child''s face turned solemn, "It was not a game young man." "But, isn''t that game created by humans!" "Ah...How ignorant can you be." The child turned his gaze towards Yuri''s jade eyes, "Did you think a bunch of mortals can create a living and breathing world? Did you think a bunch of ones and zeroes can replicate the profoundness of mortals emotion, with all of its flaw and imperfections? Did you think that mortals have that kinds of knowledge and wisdom? They can''t even understand their own feelings, and you say they created miracles? Fools, a bunch of sacrificial pawns acted like they were some kinds of gods. In the end, they were used by the gods themselves." "..." Yuri was baffled, the more he thinks about it, the more that it makes sense, he can''t retort what the child said and just kept his silence. The child took a breath, "Let me tell you the truth. That device you mortals called dive was a transporter, created by the mortal''s hands with the instructions of the gods that reside in heaven." "Transporter? What did it transport?" "Soul. Your soul. Everyone soul, even your sister soul. She used it isn''t she." The child chuckled, "Well, at least she had little power to resist the gods power, when the time of calamity arrived." "Then...That place is real..." Yuri muttered under his breath, puzzled, he asked, "For what purpose? If they wanted to invade this world, why the need to open another world?" The child''s face turned serious, "The gods plan. It''s a double-edged sword. For this world to be opened, they need a pathway. So they used Fantasia as the bridge for that, but, that isn''t enough. They need to connect more worlds for this plan to work." "The downside for this plan, however, is the mortal souls itself. You saw it for yourself. You can get stronger in that world, and also you can''t really die in that world because the body you used was a substitute, created by the universes will to balance your souls, of course, dying will have some effects, and your souls need some time to recover from it. Also, the game system in that world was also created by the universes will, it was a chance and also a trial. But, it''s a futile effort, when the mortals themselves were bound by fate. Unless. They became like you." Yuri listened closely but, the more he listened to it, the more questions he had inside his brain, "Fate? You always said about fate, what is that about?" "Fate...Is cruel...*sigh*...The threads that connect every mortals. Past, present, and the future. Just to wither within the river of time, casting away the mortal bodies, returning the souls into the cycle of reincarnation. Just to be born again, completing the cycle, again and again, slaves to their own written destiny." The child said genuinely. "Th-That''s doesn''t seem cruel?" "No...Not the fate itself...But the one that had the dominions over it..." "...Fortuna..." Yuri unconsciously muttered the name, even though he didn''t really know but somehow, that was the right answer. "Yes..." BANG! Lightning struck once more, the rain started to pour harder, the blowing winds scratched the surface of the room windows. Yuri was startled, this situation was the same situation as last night. He turned his gaze once more towards the child, his facial expression turned serious, resolve can be seen through his red eyes. "...But, why earth?" "Yes, why earth? It''s because gods are an envious being young man. This world was just like a treasure for them, of course, you wouldn''t know about it, and I didn''t want to disclose about it either. Find the answer yourself, young man." The old man chuckled. Done with his laugh he sighed, and his face turned serious after, "My time is short, young man. From now on, fate didn''t have any effect on you. Basically, you''re an immortal, but, you can still be killed. If the gods wanted to spend some of their powers to kill you, you will still perish, so, get an even stronger power young man, if you didn''t want to die that is." Yuri was stunned by the revelations. He was an immortal. No matter how absurd that sounded, he can''t deny the child statements either. Snap! The child undoes his magic. Yuri was unprepared and plummet into the ground with his face hitting the floor first. Bang! The lightning struck once more, the child turned his head towards the windows to look at the darkened skies. "Let me give you a piece of advice, young man. Seize the throne, and reach godhood from there. Also, the more mortals that played that game, the more chances you had for resisting the gods assault." Yuri lifted his body up, weird, he didn''t felt any pain aside from the shock of falling. He stood on his two feet, and examined his body once more, "Is this the side effect of being an immortals old man? I didn''t feel any pain." "Your avatars are linked to your souls now, no longer it was a substitute, it was your real self in that world. Eventually, when the passage was established, everyone avatars in that world would merge with their original mortal''s body." "...That''s why you give me that advice, because I will have an army to resist their siege." "Correct." "Then. What do you want old man? What side are you on?" Yuri said inquisitively. He still didn''t believe the child one hundred percent, even though all he said was the truth, he felt that there''s something that he hides from him. "What do I want?" The child chuckled once more, "Nothing. I already have what I wanted. And, what side am I on...Well, let''s just say, that all I want was chaos and big explosions. Hahaha" Yuri was bewildered by the child answer, his answers were just like a riddle. A riddle he must deduce before it was too late. "Here take this young man, this was my second present. Consider it as a token of gratitude, you only have a limited time, so, do your best. I''m gambling all my chances on you, young man." The child threw two items into Yuri''s hands. Yuri grabbed the items and saw that it looked like an hourglass, a small hourglass the size of his finger. Plated with gold and decorated with an intricate design that looked like a dragon. "What''s this old man?" "Use it in that world. It will help your two friends for not being a burden in your path." "But, how..." "Put it in your inventory young man, didn''t I say that your avatars were linked to you right now." Yuri gripped the item tight in his hands and muttered, "Store item.". The items in his hand disappear into light motes, indeed, his avatar now was linked to his body. How fascinating he said in his minds. BANG! The child looked towards the windows once more, "Hehe. They were angry now...But, they can''t interfere either¡ª Sadly, I didn''t have much time, if I still have my old power, maybe I can tease them to death. HAHAHA." "YOUNG MAN!! SOON THEY WILL COME!! BE STRONG!! AND ALSO REMEMBER!! DON''T TAKE THE SAME PATH AS RHEVIL DID!!" Yuri was staring at the child, his small body was slowly dissipating into the darkness, while his maniacal laughter was still ringing inside his minds. The rain finally stopped, the sun finally showed its color. The yellow rays shone across the cold streets, bringing warmth to its surrounding. The gloomy atmosphere of the room was nowhere to be found. Only Yuri with his white hair and messy clothes, accompanied by his sleeping sister was there. He stood motionless, trying to process the influx of information in his head. While suddenly her sister was showing signs of waking up. "Ummm...What happened...Why am I asleep..." He was startled, his sister woken up, "How are you feeling? Did anything changes in your body? We need to have you checked up." Lillie was bombarded with a series of questions by her brother. She was still lightheaded, and can only process some of it, she was puzzled by her brother reaction. Chapter 17 - Countermeasure "What do we do now?" "We lost control of the game. We can''t update it nor the in-game commands work." "We can''t let the players knew about it. If we do that, our stock will plummet." "Why now...*Sigh*..." "Can we still monitor the game though?" "We can still monitor the game, but as I said, we didn''t have the control anymore." "..." Emperor''s Destiny company. The meetings of the boards of director lasted longer than it should. They were discussing the best course of actions, because the fate of their company depends on this discussions. One suggestion after another was thrown into the table, only to be dismissed replaced by another argument. In the end, they gave up and decided to cover up their tracks. Acting like they still had the controls of the game and announced that the phenomenon that happened inside the game, was, in fact, their doings, and stated that it was their first global quest, and let the players find out more about it. The players and masses were fooled by it. Garnering attention from the media and also game journalists. Dive system sales boosted up and their game cards were selling like hot cakes. The company took a big gamble in their decisions. ---- Several days have passed. Yuri hasn''t logged in into Emperor''s Destiny yet. He was busy, coming back and forth, between his company and the hospital. The people at his company at first were stunned by their CEO appearance, his new white hair was like an attention grabber by itself. Yuri, ignored all of the attention, like his usual self, at first there were many discussion about it, but with the course of time, they accepted it because it wasn''t that unusual either in Korea. At the hospital, the doctors and nurses that were in charge of Lillie treatments were baffled by the revelations. They didn''t believe their eyes and ran series of test to affirm Lillie conditions, but, all the results were saying that she was completely healed. They were shocked, and the only explanations they had that it was a miracle. Looking at the results Yuri was elated by his sister conditions that had been healed perfectly. But, even though her spinal cancer were healed, her legs still can''t move, leaving her still a cripple from waist to bottom. Yuri was heartbroken by the outcome. But, Lillie, on the contrary, still felt joy and happiness for her recovery. She didn''t mind her crippled state, after living with it for almost eight years now, she was already used to it. And now, her cancer was recovered completely, she was a healthy young girl, basically, she can do anything that she dreamed of, now. Felix also came to the hospital, he was shocked at first by the fast recovery of Lillie. He bought her gifts and threw a party just for her, in her hospital room. So-Hee also came that time, with her usual black hat and the black hoodie. Yuri was shocked at first, how did So-Hee know about his whereabouts, they didn''t exchange numbers, only in-game contacts. "What happens to your hair?" So-Hee asked while staring at Yuri. "Ah...This...Stuff happens...Hehe..." Yuri answered awkwardly. "I like it." She smiled sweetly. Aside from asking questions towards him, she also told him that it was Felix that told her about the happy occasion. She blackmailed him of course, otherwise, Felix wouldn''t tell a thing about it. Yuri smiled and thanked her from the bottom of his heart, although they''ve just met weeks ago, he considered her as a friend already, growing his small circle of friends. It was also the first time Lillie saw So-Hee, she was puzzled at first and thought that maybe that girl was Felix new girlfriend, but after examining her up close, scrutinizing her every course of actions, she found out that So-Hee got a feeling for her big brother. She chuckled, her woman intuition about a relationship is always right, but her brother is oblivious to such things, he was left in the dark while his sister and Felix already knew about it. The celebrations didn''t last long. Knowing that the dark undercurrents of gods plan would start at any time. Yuri racked his brain about how to tell this type of crucial information. Of course, he didn''t want to ruin the happy occasion, but, he didn''t have any choice about it either. It wouldn''t make any difference if he told the information at a later date. But, it was beneficial for them if he told this sooner. Not only to prepare sooner, but they can also get stronger faster. He took a deep breath amidst the celebrations. His face turned serious. "There''s something you guys need to know..." The clamor inside the room suddenly stopped, all eyes now on him. He took a deep breath once more, and scanned their faces one by one. He didn''t say anything, instead, he moved his hand and opened up his inventory menu, which only can be seen by him. Seconds after, a journal was in his hands. The rest was stunned, they can''t believe their eyes. "Are you learning magic tricks?" Felix asked.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. "That journal looked familiar...It looked like one of my gifts in the game..." Lillie chimed, puzzled by what she saw. "I didn''t recall that the game had any merchandise item or even a store to sell it." So-Hee wondered. "Yes, this was one of Lillie''s gift in the game. It''s a genuine item from the game." Yuri emphasized. They were in disbelief, Yuri sighed, of course, they were. If he were to see this type of situation, he also wouldn''t believe what he said. Felix was the first to open his mouth, he saw Yuri serious face, in his minds he thought that Yuri wasn''t lying and didn''t play tricks with them, but, it''s just absurd and incredulous at the same time, and he can''t help to become skeptical to it. "N-No way...You''re playing tricks right?" He said awkwardly. Felix was smiling awkwardly, but, the next second, his eyes became wider. "Do you believe me now?" Yuri stared at him with his serious face. The room became gaunt. Horrifying aura seeped through every nook and cranny of the brown carpeted room. They felt the chills crawling through their minds, fear, terror, and fright. They felt their hearts had been gripped, suffocating them and dragging them towards the abyss. The item that he took out was [Ring of Lesser Despair] that Nebelstein dropped. Although it didn''t affect him that much, he was quite surprised too, the effect of the item was beyond his imagination. He stored it immediately after he saw their pale faces. After the item was stored they were drenched in cold sweat as the aftermath. Their breathing became ragged, but the terror in their eyes still lingered, for once, they felt that they have met death itself. Yuri saw their state and said, "Breath. Took a deep breath. Calm your minds." His minds worked faster than before. He said it instinctually as if it was the natural course of actions. ''Huh, why everything seemed so clear now...'' He was puzzled, in a split second he deduced the best possible answer for his own conditions. His avatar merging process was done in a gradual manner. First, it was removing his body impurities, the second, was his physical state, although he didn''t reach the superhuman state yet, it was slowly processed into his body. And now, the process of merging his intelligence and wisdom status into his real body began its initial process. He didn''t know when will the process completed itself, but, at least he knew that his body was gradually changing. They took one deep breath after another, calming their restless minds. The room was filled with silence. After calming their minds, they stared at Yuri. Seriousness was written all over their faces. "H-How?" So-Hee was the first to broke the silence. Yuri shifted his gaze towards her beautiful blue eyes, "That game, is not a game." Felix was startled, "Then, what is that? And what happened to you? Why can you open the game interface in the real world?" "Is...This related to that child, big brother??" Lillie asked. Yuri shifted his gaze once more towards her sister and nod. He scanned their faces once more, and told them everything he knows. About the old man, gods plan, the game, and also the time of calamity in the near future. The more they heard about it, the more skeptical they became. They threw a rapid succession of questions, while Yuri tried his best to answer them all. He tried his best to convince them, because no matter what happened, the only one that closes to him is his priorities first. The world can collapse, but not them, this was his resolution after contemplating his thought. He wasn''t a hero, nor he was a savior. He was only a single human, that broke away from his own fate. An immortal in the midst of primordial wars between gods. "Then...What do we do now?" Felix asked. "We keep playing the game. Amass our own army, and resist the gods onslaught." So-Hee chimed. "We also can become gods..." Lillie mumbled. Yuri perked his ears hearing Lillie mumble, "How?" He questioned while grabbing Lillie''s hands. Felix and So-Hee also had their eyes sparkled by Lillie mumble, and listened closely after Yuri asked the question. "Legendary quest, it was briefly mentioned in the lore...But, I didn''t know how to get one..." Lillie answered "Legendary quest..." Yuri memorized it in his evolving brain, and continued, "Okay! At least we got a clue how to become one. But, first, we need to establish our dominion and seize the throne." Felix nodded while racking his brain at the same time, "We also need more people to play the game." "You''re right about that..." Yuri agreed. "If only we can control the company..." So-Hee said. Lillie''s eyes sparkled, "AH! Big brother, you can buy it! And advertised it like crazy!" Yuri was startled by Lillie suggestions, he looked toward Felix, "What do you think about this? You''re my CFO. You make the calls." Felix worked his brain, his miser nickname wasn''t baseless. He was a savant for all the thing that dealt with money. He was a genius, revered by many corporations, he was like the savior of capitalism. Yuri brilliant decision making combined with Felix financial genius, made them an unstoppable force in the concrete jungle. "Yes...I approve! I can see the possibilities that it can make us even richer." Felix''s eyes shone with ambitions. So-Hee was baffled by the answer, while Yuri and Lillie rolled their eyes, the greed in Felix''s heart knows no bounds. "Now, the only obstacles for this plan was the geezers in the boards, especially that old geezer." Yuri said, his eyes full of determination. So-Hee didn''t want to be left out. All this time she didn''t told them her real identity, but, knowing that they were in the same boat right now, there''s nothing holding her back. She plucked up her courage and said, "I-I can help advertise it too after you bought the company..." She said, while taking off her hat. Yuri and Felix were puzzled by her actions. Lillie, on the other hand, had her eyes widened up. "AH!! YOU''RE MS. AHN SO-HEE FROM STARLIGHT!!" Lillie exclaimed. "Huh?? Aren''t you Yang So-Hee??" Yuri and Felix were even more puzzled by Lillie reactions. Yuri tugged her sister hands asking for clarifications. "She''s an idol!! Globally famous too!! Yang So-Hee was her real name, while Ahn So-Hee was her stage name." Lillie clarified. Yuri and Felix made the same expressions, their mouth made an o shape. So-Hee was satisfied with Lillie reactions, she felt accomplished, even though the one that she had a crush on didn''t recognize her. Knowing that his sister knew her it was enough, she can slowly climb the relationship ladder through his sister first. Yuri shook his head, he remembered the items that the old man gave to him, "Right! Make sure to check out your mailbox in the game. I didn''t know what that item is, but I''m sure it was beneficial for you both." The group chatted together until the sun hides its radiance. Felix and So-Hee said their goodbye to the siblings. After the two left, Yuri cleaned up the room, while her sister changed a set of clean clothes in the bathroom. Time passed, and the two was ready to leave the depressing hospital room. They said their goodbye to the doctors and nurses there. On their journey home, it was silent. They didn''t speak any single words. Many things happened today, and they need time to process all of them. Yuri looked at Lillie''s jade eyes, ''We will survive...'' He made an oath in his minds. Chapter 18 - Logging In "Are you sure this is the right place?" "Yeah, just at the end of this tunnel, and we''re out." "W-What happened to this place..." Ruined palace, burning houses, a crater the size of a lake greeted their vision. "T-This is where Stonehelm located right?" "I-I don''t know...Are you sure we''re not lost..." ---- It was the start of a new day, forecasted to be sunny with a bit of cloud. Yuri woke up early, as usual, and the first thing he did in the morning is that he cleaned up the place, especially his room, instead of his usual workout. He decided to throw his old rugs that were stained with his black substance, although he already cleaned it up, the unbearable odor still lingered inside his room. Time passed and Lillie opened her eyes by the noise. She hasn''t had a good night sleep in her stays in the hospital, but after sleeping in her own bed, she felt relaxed and energized after she woke up. She changed a set of clean clothes and washed up first, before going out of her room with a smile on her face. Thankfully Yuri already threw the poisonous rugs, if not, the smile on Lillie''s face would face and turned into a sour one. He also made breakfast for the two of them. The morning of the sibling households was a simple one, a warm coffee, breakfast, and a little family talk. Although the burden in their shoulders now been multiplied, because of the gamble they took for their chance of survival. They decided to be happy in their daily life, while at the same time do their best with their objectives. Emperor''s Destiny to them wasn''t a game anymore. It was their treasure and their future. And now, his first mission was to set foundations to their empire inside it. He asked Lillie how to establish one, and the inner workings of it, while Lillie answered all the details that he asked. The best course of actions and the best strategy to grow a strong empire. Yuri memorized all of Lillie explanations. But, in his minds, he asked why her little sister didn''t make an empire if she''s this informed about the game. To his surprise, she only had one [Heaven''s Will], she risked all of his avatar progression on that one item, and she gave it to him, hoping that one day he will play the game, which turns out to be true. His eyes became determined, he had the thought to return the item but knowing the heavy burden it carries, he gave up the idea. The sun rose at its highest. The siblings returned to their own room, intending to log in into the game. ''Power...That''s all that matter...'' Yuri thought in his mind, as he put on the dive helmet. ---- "Look! A person!" "Where??" "In the middle of the crater." Yuri opened up his jade eyes. He was stunned, the first thing he saw was a crater and the barren landscapes. "W-Where am I..." He scanned his surroundings at saw a ruined palace in the distance, "N-No way...T-This is Stonehelm..." Stonehelm, a city with more than twenty thousands citizens vanished into nothingness. Replaced by ruins and destruction. The beautiful landscapes were no more. The lake, the forest, the green vast plains, were nowhere to be found. Only vultures and the cracked grounds filled up the place. He was shaking, was it his doing he said in his minds. He was a mass murderer he said in his minds. After knowing the fact that this place was a real place in the vast multiverses, added the sense of reality into his minds. "N-No...It was the gods...Not me..." He tried to deny the possibilities, but his evolving minds had conflicting thoughts about it. Although he didn''t have any attachments to the place, his morality told him otherwise. Knowing the fact that it already happened and nothing will change even if he admits to it. He decided to close his eyes, and took a deep breath to calm his mind. He carved the image into his memory, and reminded himself, that the same situation will happen to his world if the gods invaded. "Your...Sacrifices will not be in vain..." He said it while opening his eyes. ---- "HEY! HEEEEEY!!" The yell traveled into his ears. Yuri turned his head towards the direction of the sound with his usual stoic face. He saw two men wearing iron armor armed with a sword and an axe. "Hey, did you know what happened here??" The man with the sword in his waist asked. Yuri shook his head, although he knew exactly what happened, he decided not to tell them.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. "This is Stonehelm right??" The man asked again. "Yes..." Yuri answered. "Damn! Is the war already extended to this area." Yuri perked his ears, "War?" "You didn''t know?" The man with the axe in his back scrutinized Yuri from top to bottom, "Judging from your equipment I assume you''re a newbie?" Yuri nodded, although his equipment was a rare one, the visual of it still looked like an item that a newbie would wear. "Okay. Let me tell you about it then." The man with the axe took a breath, and continued, "I assume you know about the announcements that the company made right? About the events and stuff." He was puzzled at first, but nodded afterward, pretending to know about it. "Right. That announcement triggered all the players that had a territory into a frenzy. They speculated if they were to conquer all the lands they would have the chance to became gods themselves." "Gods?" Yuri asked. The man with the sword in his waist had his eyes sparkled by Yuri questions, "Yes! Gods! They would have the chance to break the level eight hundred barriers." Yuri turned his gazes towards the man with the sword, "Is that true?" "I don''t know the exact details but, there was this thread in the game forum that said if they acquired the emperor''s throne, they would have the chance to get a legendary quest, that can break the level limits if they succeed." Yuri racked his brain, he speculated that this was one of the gods schemes, but for what reason, if the players would become a god then wouldn''t that mean they have one more enemy to fight? He was puzzled, but, intending to dig more information, he asked, "No way they would believe in that right?" "Yeah, it could be a HOAX too." The man with the axe chimed in, he was also invested in the story that his companion told. "Dunno. But, it seems like the top players believed in that. But, you didn''t have to worry about it, you''re still a newbie after all." The man with the sword shrugged his shoulders. "Right..." Yuri smiled awkwardly. "Anyway, we decided to go to the next town, Lindow, you want to tag along?" Yuri was tempted with the offer, but, he had a conflicting thought. Should he tag along or use the [Heaven''s Will]. He was weighing his options for a second, and decided to tag along. He can use the [Heaven''s Will] at any time, but he didn''t know where he will end up, so he decided to go to the next town instead, aside from gathering more information about the war, he also needed to upgrade his inventory slots. "Yeah. I''ll tag along, thanks." Yuri smiled. "Let''s go then before it gets dark." The man with the sword led the way, "Oh right, why didn''t you join our party newbie." "Ah, I didn''t want to leech your experience...I''m just a burden anyway." Yuri declined with a smile on his face, he assumed that the two was a high leveled player. The man with the sword became stiff when he heard that Yuri said he was a burden. Now, he was obliged to defend him from the onslaught of monsters along the way, he smiled awkwardly, "Oh...Just don''t stray away from me...ROMMEL!! WE''RE DEPARTING!!" "COMING!!" Rommel, the man with the axe strapped behind his back, ran towards the two. The three journeyed through the barren wastelands, they walked pass the Stonehelm ruins. Yuri scanned the ruins along the way. He was horrified by the sight, he also saw the skeleton remains of the citizens, littered across its broken pavements. ---- "[Bull''s Charge]" "[Triple Slash]" The sun glowed in orange radiance, the three has walked along the great plains of Arugal for three hours, and finally arrived at the entrance for Lindow forest that connects between the two towns. They were ambushed along the way, mainly by bandits and wolves, but the two men took care of it like it was their usual daily business. Yuri, on the other hand, was watching in the back, deciding not to get in the way. Clop Clop The three perk their ears. "Infantries?" Rommel asked. "Probably a small scouting unit...But...What are they doing in here? Also from which army?" The sounds of metal clanging and horse walking spread throughout the forest. The two hide their presence in the bush near the main dirt road. Watching the two actions, Yuri did the same. The soldiers walked passed them, there were around a hundred people in that unit. They were armed to the teeth, marching slowly towards the perimeter of Lindow with their boar face sigil in their banner. Yuri also saw the leader, riding in his armored horse and guarded by four more horse rider in his front and back. ''Maybe this was Lindow army...'' He thought in his minds. *CREAK* Yuri was startled by the sudden noise, he turned his head towards the two, and noticed that their face turned pale, ''SHXT!'' "WHO GOES THERE!" The soldiers armed their weapons and aimed at the noise source, "COME OUT!! OR WE WILL ATTACK!!" The two were pale, they walked out from their cover with their hands holding the back of their heads. "ARE YOU, ENEMY SPIES!!" One of the soldiers asked, he scrutinized the two, and point his weapon to Rommel, "YOU!! TALK!!" Rommel panicked, his hands were sweating, and his eyes were trembling by fear, "N-No!! We''re just an adventurer, intending to go to Lindow." The soldiers were staring at them, their faces were wet with sweats. It rolled down through their cheeks and dropped into the ground. The leader moved towards them, he scanned the two once more, "Kill them." He ordered on top of his horse. The two trembled, if they were to die now, they will have to wait three months before they can play again. Their accumulation of deaths have been stacked up since their newbie days, and they can''t afford to add it once more. They dropped to their knees and begged for mercy. Yuri saw all of it happening, especially the scene where the two begged in their two knees. Currently, he was still hiding in a bush near the back side of the soldiers, but, his morality side and his logical side was clashing inside his brain, if he were to die here, it would delay his plan, while the gods moved a step further from him. But, even if he confronted the soldiers, he didn''t know if he will successfully escape with the two. In the end, he chooses his morality instead of his logic, he knew the truth of this world. That, even if the body in this world was only a substitute, their souls remained theirs, and it only would damage them further, making them a cripple if they would experience death over and over. Knowing that fact, he gritted his teeth and jumped out from his cover. He jumped too far and landed in front of the army leader. His thought was in chaos. He can''t get out of the situation now. He still gritted his teeth, and at the same time, he stared at the leader while all the soldiers weapons were aimed towards his neck. The leader saw his determined eyes through the slits of his helmet, he judged Yuri basing on his tattered equipment''s "Oh. A weakling dares to show up?" The leader said with a smirk under his helmet, his eyes turned vicious and ordered, "Kill the two. Slowly! And, let this one witness it!" The soldiers shivered by their leader orders, but, they were only a grunts soldiers and can only submit to orders, they gulped, and yelled, "YES, SIR!" The leader laughed maniacally, and said, "After that, kill him too. HAHAHA!" While making a slitting motion across his neck. Chapter 19 - Beast Iron spears reflected the rays of the slowly setting sun. Aimed towards the two kneeling man. Their bodies were shaking, and their eyes trembled by the sight. "How can we kill them slowly?" "We can cut off their limbs one by one." One of the soldiers said while licking his lips. "Good idea, let''s do it. Hehehe." Another soldier smirked. Cold sweat rolled on their backs, in their minds the fear slowly crawled through. It was fine when they were killed instantly. But, now, they were being tied to a tree behind them, and soon, they will be tortured beyond measure. Yuri watched the whole process, he wanted to save them, but, he thinks that it was futile, because his minds were telling him that he was still a level six newbie, surrounded by ten, level seventy foot soldiers. "Let''s start with the small finger first, shall we. Kukuku." The man grabbed his dagger and pointed it to the man with the sword. The man with the sword trembled, but, knowing its just a game he gritted his teeth and steeled his heart. He engraved this moment in his heart, he will have his revenge. SLASH! The pain kicked in. It wasn''t the type of pain he always experienced while playing the game. It was unbearable! "ARGHHH!!" His screams reverberated throughout the forest, his eyes red with tears. His body was cold, and trembling non-stop. Rommel, the man with the axe was tied just in front of him. The scream of his companion sends a shiver to his spine. His minds were in chaos and distress filled his heart. He also watched the soldiers laughed at his friend predicaments, he was furious, at the sight, and yelled, "BYRNE HOLD ON!!!" He glared toward the soldiers, "YOU SICK BASTARDS!!" The soldiers took a glance at him. They smirked, and one of them said, "You''re next! Fatty! HAHAHA!" Yuri was stupefied by the sight, ''This...?'' He was puzzled. His eyes were trembling, no, this game wasn''t a game anymore, and it looks like the souls merging process already started, albeit slowly. He felt the despair in the man with the sword eyes, but, at the same time, he felt his minds were becoming calmer as the time goes. He devised one plan after another. But, no matter what plan he devised, the success rate was no more than five percents, it was if he wanted to rescue the two. All of this was calculated inside his evolving brain, now, he was in the border of a savant human, not yet superhuman, however, it was already impressive enough if he was compared to the normal humans on earth. Scents of blood lingered through the air, the pungent metallic scent. He saw Byrne pained expressions, while gritting his teeth with his eyes trembled with fear. His hands were painted red, covered with his own blood. "Next. How about we plucked your nails." The soldiers that cut Byrne finger said with a grin in his face. Byrne was squirming, he roared and cursed the soldier, while they were laughing at his reactions. Rommel did the same, he spat at one of them, only to be smacked in the back of his head. Yuri watched at the side, his neck was still surrounded by a sharp tip of iron spears. His minds were in chaos now, he can''t just watch all of this happen, it was better if they were killed instead of being tortured. By now, only a handful of soldiers were left in the dense forest, while the rest were continuing their journey towards the town of Lindow. They were left alone in there, no matter how much they screamed, nobody would care or even hear them. Yuri gritted his teeth, he grabbed the spears that were in front of him and yanked it towards his body. The soldiers that surrounded him were startled, but they recovered quite fast and lunged their weapons towards his head. He was in the middle of his motion, the soldiers that had his spears yanked stumbled forward, replacing Yuri as the target of the soldiers weapon. His neck was torn and pierced by the spears, and his body was gushing out blood by the slash of the soldiers swords. The first part of his plan worked perfectly, however, now, he was facing with the problematic parts of his plan. The soldiers were surrounding him, even the one that tortured the duo. Their eyes turned vicious, one of his comrades died, they feared that the leader would torture them instead if he knew that they got casualties dealing with weaklings. Yuri wanted to run, but it''s already too late, he already steeled his convictions to help the duo. No turning back now. His body was ready and assumed his combat stance. One of the soldiers grew restless and lunged towards him. Cold iron spear thrust through the air, aimed toward his head. He focused all of his senses towards this strike. To his surprise, the spear moved slowly, unbearably slow, it was like the slow motion shown in action movies. He reacted by dodging to the left with his eyes still locked in the spear tip that passed by his body. ''W-what is happening?'' He was puzzled in his minds, but knowing the dire situation, he threw away his questions and concentrate towards his opponents. He gathered all of his strength towards his right fist, he draws it just enough to get momentum, and slammed it towards the soldier iron armored chest. "BLUERGH!!" The cold iron spear dropped into the dirt grounds. Red fluid splattered all over, the soldier that took the brunt force of Yuri punch was trembling, his mouth is colored crimson by the blood he vomited. His body turned cold, he turned his gaze towards his chest, his visions were blurry, but, his eyes were widened by the sight. "Y-You...BLURGH!!" The rest of the soldiers were stunned, Yuri actions were swift, the whole process was happening in just a couple of seconds. Some of them who blinked missed it completely, and once they opened their eyes, they were greeted with the gory scene in front of them. Some of them shivered, while some of them were gulping out their fears. Gone the arrogance they had before, replaced by dread, and now, all they felt were panic and terror.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Yuri was drenched in crimson, his eyes were trembling, his right hand were penetrating the soldier body, he can feel the innards of that man in his skin. He shivered, while his stomach churned and stirred by the sight. He had the urge to vomit, which in turn came out true, the unprocessed nutrients that he ate in this avatar rushed back towards his mouth, but, instead of throwing it out he swallowed it back. He gritted his teeth and pull back his arm, resulting in the soldier''s body gushing out blood nonstop, and his innards spilled through the grounds. His eyes were trembling, now, he was a murderer. Before, it was just a game, but now, he knew the truth, that this world was a real world, just like Earth. Not just him, the rest of the soldiers that surrounded him before also trembled at the sight. Although they tortured people for fun, the scene in front of them made them realize, if they didn''t kill this man in front of them, they will meet the same fate. Mangled, and the rest of their bodies will be nutrients to the monsters inside the forest. "KILL!!" One of the soldiers shouted, he plucked his courage knowing the fact that its survival for the fittest. He led the charge by lunging his spear towards Yuri, while the rest followed after. Yuri didn''t have the leisure of being occupied with his guilt. He saw a spear was lunged towards him, while also scanning the rest of the soldiers that were charging him. He took a deep breath, realizing that his avatar was different from the last time. His minds were calmed, his eyes turned serious, and he readies up his stance once more. He looked menacing with crimson color splattered all over his body. ---- "Sir. There is no sign of Lindow army in the perimeter. I assume they didn''t know that we will invade them at this hour." "Good." The leader nodded, his eyes turned vicious, "Prepare the men! We''re advancing at the first sight of Selene!" "Yes, sir!" The hundred person army assumed their positions, they checked their equipments, while their boar-faced banner hung high, waved by the cold winds. The soldiers stretched from left to right just about the exit of the forest. They were intending to rush towards Lindow through the green plains, hoping that they were fast enough to invade its wall before the gate was closed. The sun slowly fades away, the hours of twilight, one more hour before their brave advance. The soldiers were nervous, but knowing their leaders bravely stood in front of them with his black horse they felt courage were building inside their hearts. We can do it, they said inside their head. But, sadly, the leader of their army was not that kind of man. ''Hehe. I''m going to be promoted if to be a battalion commander if this plan succeed. By the time I''ll be a battalion commander, I can do anything I want. I''m sick playing with those filthy slaves girl, now, its time for me to taste the high-class noble flesh!'' The leader licked his lips, his eyes turned savage, he was happy just by the thought of his bright but disgusting future. He was a soldier with the ranks of captain within the army of Xeipes. Xeipes were a neighboring land, just west of Stonehelm and north-west of Lindow. Xeipes was led by a power-hungry viscount by the name of Kamron Xeipes. He was bestowed the title by serving the king of Iliron empire, he racked his achievements by doing shady business and dealing with slaves. Iliron was an empire which holds Xeipes, Lindow and now, the ruined Stonehelm as its territory. But, the king was old, he was surrounded by leeches and corrupt nobles, blinded by his own pride which in turn resulting in his territories being ravaged by his own people instead of his enemies. "H-Help...Fi-Fiends..." The soldiers were startled by the sound, it was coming from the forest behind them. They were distracted, curious, they looked towards it. They were stunned, they saw a man, wearing the same armor as they did, crawling in the dirt, his face was covered with mud and blood, while his right leg was cut off from his body, leaving a trail of blood that leads towards the forest. They were shocked, one of them rushed towards the crawling soldiers, but, it was too late, the man already turned cold, with his eyes wide opened. The leader also saw that soldiers, he frowned at the sight. Thump! Thump! Thump! Sounds of footsteps reverberated through their ears. It was not loud, but somehow they can hear it clearly. Cold sensations lingered through the air, it was like a beast was looking straight at them. Slowly, from the dark forest, a figure can be seen. The soldiers focused their eyes on the figure, trying to catch a clear image of it. The last rays of the sun shined toward the figure. It was Yuri, his eyes turned red, no longer the beautiful jade color, instead, it was like the eyes of a beast. His body was washed with the colors of blood. He walked slowly while dragging the mangled body of a soldier. The soldiers that saw their comrades dragged like an animal throughout the forest shivered. Cold sweat rolled down through their backs. Their leader was no exceptions. Inside his iron helmet, his eyes were trembling looking at the sight. The leader grew restless, he felt the terror slowly gripping his hearts, and invading his minds. "W-W-What...A-Are...You...!" The leader spoke unconsciously. Yuri heard the sound and threw the soldier body in his hand towards the army leader. As the body flew in the air, blood splattered all over them, bits and pieces of the soldier body also flew all over directions while the majority of it flown towards the leader. "HEEEK!!" The leader squealed, his cowardly side shown its face. He was thrown off from his horse, no longer the mighty and vicious leader, leaving only a coward. Panic and distress filled his mind, he squirmed in the ground and shrieked, "K-KILL!! KILL HIM!!" Terror, they felt the aura of death spread all over Yuri body, they were sweating non-stop with their weapons in their hands. Slowly Yuri walked closer to them. They grew restless, and some of the gulped their guts. The aura was suffocating their minds. Some of them fainted, while some of them pissed their pants. Yuri walked and arrived in front of them, just one step away before their cold weapons sharp tip. The soldiers grew restless, they swallowed their fear, and lunged towards him. "LET-LET GO OF ME!! ARGG!!" Yuri grabbed the head of the soldiers that lunged towards him. He turned his gazes towards the man, and smirked. SPLAT! Blood splattered all over the place, eyes, brains, and cracked skulls. The soldiers that watched up close trembled and shivered. The leader watched the whole thing happened with his trembling eyes. His stomach churned, and all of the things he ate today rushed towards his mouth, he vomited inside his helmet, the pungent smell covered the inside his helmets, but, he didn''t have the luxury to think about it. All he had in his thought were fear and terror. Yuri smiled at the outcome, his smile was callous, he was more like a fiend than a human. "Void...Axis..." He mumbled with his vicious smile, while moving his hand horizontally across the air, slow enough for the soldiers to see. The soldiers were puzzled, but, then the next second, the space in front of them trembled for a second. Nothing happened, however, they felt that there was something were missing. The sun was set, replaced by the night, but, that night, a red flower bloomed from their bodies. Blood gushed out from their mangled bodies, cut by the trembling space that surrounded them before. Fortunately, the leader survived from the effect. He was shivering, at any second he can lose his sanity. He was pissing in his pants. "P-Please! I-I-I c-c-an give you anything!! Please! Spare me!! I-I-I can give you my wealth!! Women!! I-I can give you woman!! Or-or I-I can be your servant!! Please!! I-I don''t want to die!!" The leader begged on his knees, his arrogance backfired, and now, he watched his men killed in just a matter of seconds, in front of his eyes. Yuri perk his ears and heard the leader voice. His eyes were scrutinizing the leader kneeling body. His smile grew wider, he took a step, and arrived in front of him in a blink. The leader was shocked, he looked toward Yuri, but all he saw was a demon. Yuri lifted his right feet, with his callous smile. His feet were pushed the leader head towards the ground. "A-ARGH!! ARGH!!!!" That night. It was a feast. A feast for the dead.