ã€ŠAshes of Gods: Return of the Blade Emperorã€‹


 1 Final Finale

    Beads of sweat dripped down Shesmu''s closed eyelids as his heart raced within his chest. He heaved in rapid breaths, still recovering from his exertion. He tried to slow his breathing as he straightened himself, gazing upward; the sunlight pierced his eyelids before he eased them open. Strange runes floated within his hazel irises.

    His gaze fixated towards the sun, a screen stood beside the star. He read the star''s description when strands of black hair settled across his face, obscuring his vision. Shesmu coated his fingers in aura, feeling the familiar buzz of power as the green light raced along them. With a lazy wave of his hand, the nuisance hair strands floated free, spiraling to the floor, perfectly bisected.

    "Shes, it''s almost time."

    The voice of his friend made Shesmu turn. Clad in a pitch-black robe, he had blood-red hair and abrasive ocean-colored eyes. Strange sigils floated within them, similar to Shesmu''s own. All the while a sky blue, semi-transparent interface floated beside his face.

    Cain(ArchMage)

    Level: 425

    HP: 500000(+7 Shield)/500000

    MP: 10 Cores/10 Cores

    Shesmu nodded at Cain when a feminine voice chimed within his mind.

    [Leader! World Serpent is at 40%. How are things going there?]

    Shesmu responded to that voice in his mind. [We''re on the way, Fate. We just killed five of them but three escaped. They just entered the canyon and are going for the Serpent. Crescent is one of them, so stay sharp.]

    [That''s good! As expected of Leader and Cain. The game is now practically over. If they go for a steal, we just turn and clap their buttcheeks!]

    Cain nodded and hummed in response.

    [Well, we''ll be on our way. Once they go through the chokepoint, we''ll close their escape route.] Shesmu added.

    [Haha, it''s not as if they have a choice. If we secure the serpent buff, they''re basically dead. Their only choice is to challenge us even though it''s a do-or-die situation... Well, it''s more like a die-or-die situation!]

    Shesmu felt the joy in Fate''s voice. This was the part she enjoyed most¡ª checkmating her enemies, and laughing at them as she did so. That was the only exciting part for her when competing in regionals.

    [The game is already over. Make it clean.]

    Fate pouted at Shesmu''s words. [Leader, you''re no fun!]

    Understanding that this discussion would be endless, Shesmu terminated the telepathic connection. He then examined his surroundings, noting that every object he saw had a blue screen describing it. Annoyed, he issued a command within the silences of his mind.

    ''Deactivate World Eyes.''

    The scenery brightened without the presence of those irksome, blue screens, putting Shesmu at ease without any visual noise.

    ''Activate Party Mode.''

    ''Even without him, they should be fine.''

    With one hop, Shesmu stood and Cain trailed behind. "Hey, Shes. What do you think of Crescent?" Cain asked.

    Shesmu looked up, his thumb idly scratching at his chin. "Oh, I really like him actually. High compatibility with the ether field, insane reaction, and he is a Tier-V space-time mage. He is crazy good."

    Cain nodded in agreement, staying silent as he did. It looked like he wanted to speak, but his speech seemed to be lodged in his throat.

    "What are you thinking? Want me to poach him?"

    Cain remained silent for some time before responding. His voice and confidence built up momentum as he spoke. "Yeah... if it''s possible."

    Shesmu looked up, lost in his thoughts. Finally, he responded. "Okay, sure. I''ll talk to the manager later about it. Vez is thinking about retiring, so we do need a good substitute."

    Cain didn''t break his silence. Shesmu understood automatically that he was in complete agreement.

    ''Show minimap.''

    A digital 2D map appeared in the bottom left of Shesmu''s vision field. Multiple red dots closing in on a clump of blue ones, drawing closer by the second.

    "They''re closing in on Fate and the others. We need to hurry."

    Cain nodded, then the two jumped onto a tree branch each. They took off to intercept the enemy. From the corner of his eye, Shesmu noticed the all-familiar red-eyed crow, looking at them from a distance. He smiled and whispered, "Eva, Sophie..."

    * * *

    The crow kept watching, discerning their every movement, or possible ones. Its red eyes shone with a deeper hue. Within its pupils, a magic circuit resided. It was connected to multiple screens which displayed the figures of Shesmu and Cain to a stadium filled with a burgeoning crowd.

    The crowd''s cheers reached the clouds, so enthusiastic and loud. The stadium was split into two camps where one half wore red, while the other wore black. Both camps raised opposing flags engraved with the emblem of their chosen champions.

    "Blood Cross!" The red-clad fans shouted.

    "Black Moon!" The fans clothed in black reciprocated loud and aggressively.

    In the midst of it, a couple, whose presence was ephemeral, looked fervently at the screens. They were a little girl and a woman in her late twenties.

    "Papa!" The little girl pointed at the screens. Her mouth opened wide, her eyes glistening with amazement.

    The older woman heard the little girl''s shout despite the roaring noises around them. She jumped in joy and clapped her hands together.

    "Yes, Eva. That''s papa, right? Papa is amazing!"

    Looking at Sophie''s exaggerated demeanor, Eva blushed before rolling her eyes.

    "There you go again, mama. Papa didn''t even do anything yet! How is that amazing?"

    Sophie flinched at Eva''s deadpan expression. That cold-hearted response froze her in place. She looked down before her daughter gave her back hope.

    "But, it''s cool¡­"

    Her daughter''s barely audible whisper was heard. Sophie jumped up once again, her enthusiasm restored.

    "That there are so many people rooting for Papa and his team. It''s cool."

    The mother''s expression softened. She smiled before returning her focus to the screens floating high above the stadium. They no longer displayed scenes featuring Shesmu and Cain. Instead, it focused on the team clad in red whose members were running through a canyon.

    The crowd was hyped already, the cheers deafened the ears. The announcer added oil to the blazing fire consuming the stadium.

    "Blood Cross is becoming desperate¡ªCrescent is leading them towards their final stand! If Black Moon manages to secure the Serpent buff, they can march their way into their enemies'' core. Blood Cross needs to make it happen and they need to do it fast! They''re down five members since the last skirmish. It won''t be an 8v8 fight anymore. It''d take a miracle for them to win! Let''s see if they can orchestrate a miraculous steal!"

    The whole crowd was collectively on the edge of their seats. Black Moon''s fans were assured of their team''s victory and kept hollering the names of their favorite players, while Blood Cross'' looked on with anxious eyes, hoping they could turn the tides. Eva''s mother gazed around the crowd, taking in their expressions. She shook her head. Her attention was misplaced, but she regained composure when she felt a pulling at her cuff.

    "Mama, Mama."

    She turned around towards Eva who stared at her with a toothy smile.

    "Mama, what is this Serpent that Mr. Voice just talked about?"

    "Ah, yes," Sophie responded. "The World Serpent. Hmm, do you remember when we talked about the game Papa plays?"

    "Yes, I remember it." Eva nodded repeatedly. "You said there are two teams. Each team has a core that has to be defended. It''s hidden in a dungeon." She paused as a question occurred to her. "Are the dungeons like ones in the shows?"

    "Eva is such a smart girl!" Sophie''s eyes brightened. "You remembered everything I told you perfectly. Ah, I love you so much!" she pinched Eva''s cheeks, causing her to tear up with how enthusiastically she was pulling.

    "Mama... you''re hurting me."

    Sophie quickly retracted her hands, looking abashed. She hurried to hug Eva and apologize. "Sorry, Eva. Mama just loves you so much she couldn''t help herself but to pinch your cute cheeks. Here, I''ll cast a spell to heal them. You''ll feel better."

    Eva nodded and stopped sobbing. Her mother caressed her cheeks as she cast her spell.

    "Eva wuryath ihu," she chanted softly. The tone of her voice made Eva smile before turning puzzled.

    "Mama, you always say that chant but you never told me what it means."

    Sophie grinned at her daughter''s question. "Well, that''s a secret."

    Eva''s annoyed expression provoked her mother to hug her again. Eva struggled to escape her mother''s grasp but to no avail. She couldn''t escape the deadly bear hug exerting force, so she had to think of a way to outwit her mother. She experienced eureka. The idea brought a smile to her face.

    "Mama," Eva essayed a question. "You still haven''t told me about the Serpent, yet."

    "Oh, you''re right." Sophie nodded, distracted. The reminder served its purpose, making her mother finally release her. Her mastermind plan to outplay the demon lord that was her mother had worked brilliantly! It was perfect! Eva made a winning pose in her head, waving to imaginary fans in a graceful fashion.

    "Oh, yes!" Sophie continued. "The Serpent. As I already explained before, the two teams need to defend their own core while seeking to destroy the opposing one. That''s how you win the game, Eva."

    Noticing something, her mother suddenly leaned forward, beckoning Eva to return her attention to the game. She smiled before focusing on Eva once again.

    "So, each dungeon has a strong, mean, ugly guardian. It is a most difficult task to kill this beast. No one team is strong enough to slay it. As such, our heroes shall travel a dangerous path, and defeat numerous monsters in their journey¡­"

    Sophie''s phony speech made Eva doze off. She finally snapped out of her daze and exclaimed.

    "Mom! Don''t go into your bard mode. Just tell me what the Serpent thingy does!"

    "Ehh, okay." Sophie dropped both her shoulders and her tone. "So, there is this Serpent Boss thingy, and if they kill it, the guardian becomes weaker. Then they go and kill the guardian, that''s it."

    Eva showed a puzzled expression at Sophie''s explanation.

    "So, let me get this straight. You kill the Serpent, and the guardian becomes weaker, right?"

    Sophie nodded smiling.

    "Yes, exactly right."

    "So, can you explain to me how does that even makes sense? Are these two guys related or something, like lovers and stuff? Else, why in the hell would killing a serpent make the guardian weaker?!"

    Eva''s barrage of confusion-filled questions surprised her mother at first. "Hahaha!" She let out gales of laughter. "You''re totally right Eva¡ªwhat does defeating a serpent have anything to do with the guardian? I wonder about it too. I don''t know."

    The laughter didn''t really help Eva, instead confused her further. She returned her attention to the game, deciding to cast her worries aside. The engaging caster''s voice was able to distract her. She looked to the screen, thinking it had displayed her father only a couple of minutes ago. It effectively kept her focus on that screen. Sophie watched her by her side. Eva''s sudden intense focus paired with a slightly ajar jaw made her giggle before her own attention returned to the display. The camera, at the moment, focused on three players. It was the red team. Their steps were quick, and eyes focused.

    * * *

    "We''re close, prepare the array," one of the players, apparently a leader, issued the order.

    The duo accompanying him answered, "Will do, Crescent."

    Crescent nodded in response to his teammates'' before his eyes refocused. The camera followed the path of his eyesight. It showed the exit of the canyon¡ªtheir ultimate goal.

    Beyond it, a fight of epic proportions took place. A beast with three serpent heads faced down with five fighters. Its ghostly hiss reverberated through the air, causing its opponents to flinch. It spewed a thick fog of dark, green poison from its leftmost head.

    "Fate, Vez, blow your load." A knight in golden armor spat out orders. "Truth, detox." His hair was black, and eyes green. His chiseled face was proof of the thousands of battles he''d fought.

    "Gotcha, Leo." A purple-haired girl responded, planting her staff on the ground before her as she chanted a spell.

    "Leave it to me!" A silver-haired man opened his grimoire causing a dark magic circle to appear on the terrain beneath him.

    A priestess in the rear of the party chanted one prayer after another as the fog of poison encircled them, before engulfing the party. At the very moment, a golden magic circle shone beneath them. The radiant light illuminated, all nullifying the dark gas poison. In the center of the magical circle, the priestess floated. Her white robe fluttered, as did her golden hair. Her visage was truly the definition of noblesse and grace.

    "Nice timing, Truth!" The black-haired knight praised. He returned his attention to the World Serpent. "Mages, slow. Rev, scout for Blood Cross."

    "Roger that," a man covered entirely in black responded curtly. His shadow rippled like water before he descended into it. Once he''d disappeared, the rest of the party focused on the boss. An HP bar floated above the World Serpent''s head. Only 10% of the monsters HP remained, causing its bar to glow red. The camera panned up, zooming out to capture the entire body of the World boss. It slowly rotated around it.

    * * *

    It then averted to a new subject¡ªa team of three players hiding behind nearby rocks at the exit of the canyon.

    Crescent, the leader of his team, was going over the details of his plan, one last time. "Remember to time the cloak buff at 7%. The moment I go in, teleport to the other side of the canyon. Draw their attention. I have the array ready, and if I combo it with my dark star, I can one-shot it at 5%. They don''t have the raw burst to out-damage me with their comp."

    Crescent patted both of his teammates'' shoulders, psyching them up.

    "Vain, Yorth, we''ve gone over this hundred of times in practice. Think of it as another practice session, no pressure. We''ll win!"

    Crescent looked back at the Serpent, his eyebrows furrowed. "Guys, it''s time. Yorth, cloak. Vain, TP*!"

    The duo jumped into action. Yorth opened a scroll before biting his thumb. Blood flowed and Vain formed a circle on the scroll. He chanted as the blood shone.

    While Yorth channeled the array, Vain chanted a spell.

    A dark egg-shaped portal appeared before Vain. It rippled like the surface of a lake. At the same time, Yorth''s scroll dimmed in its luminosity, and as it did Crescent started to fade. Gradually he became more spectral before entirely vanishing.

    Yorth and Vain jumped into the dark portal, while the invisible Crescent soared into the air, coming closer to his target: The World Serpent.

    Meanwhile, Rev, who was tasked to scout for his team, felt a strange magical energy surge within the exit of the canyon. His eyes darted towards its source. Two players stood atop the edge of the canyon, charging a spell towards the boss. Rev was prepared to intercept them when he stopped dead in his tracks.

    ''Crescent isn''t there!''

    That realization filled him with an ominous feeling. He summoned two orbs: one golden, the other blue. The orbs moved up and down, left and right, circling him in a spiral that seemed infinite¡ªand they fused. A new, bigger orb was created by their union.

    The completed orb pulsated, radiating a wave that encompassed the whole field. Suddenly, Rev turned his gaze to the air towards a specific location. He bit his thumb and he cast the blood that oozed out on the mysterious orb. Its blue began tinting more towards purple. The orb shone with a myriad of color aura.

    Rev shouted a simple incantation, "Revelation!"

    Another pulse surged to fill the field. Rev detected a presence and dashed towards it. As he did, an ethereal figure appeared right where he''d sensed something. The transparent figure appeared like a ghost or djinn. Gradually he took corporeal form. He''d found the missing Crescent!

    Crescent looked at Rev in surprise. His eyes focused on the orb beside his opponent which resulted in the shock fading into annoyance. At that moment, multiple fireballs appeared around him as he swiftly drew a magic circle. The fireballs shot towards Rev like missiles. Rev watched incoming attacks, responding by nullifying his momentum and redirecting it midair. He started zigzagging with incredible speed, and before anyone could notice it, afterimages appeared.

    The fireballs Crescent had launched all missed their target, hitting nothing, and passing harmlessly through the afterimages. Rev took out a kunai, casting it towards his opponent. Crescent, who was layering one magic circle atop another, was forced to end his chanting, breaking his spell. He created a hexagonal ethereal shield to block the kunai. However, Rev''s weapon easily broke through Crescent''s shield, to pierce his shoulder.

    A black and green aura encompassed Rev, further increasing his speed. Crescent, still hurting from that kunai, was shocked by the display of speed. He desperately began chanting a spell as Rev closed in. Rev reached him in half a second. His knife was coated with a dense black aura, ready to strike. Rev swung his knife to slash Crescent, intending to slit his belly open. He was confused when Crescent disappeared.

    Behind a rock, one of which littered the exit of the canyon, Crescent hid, grimacing in pain. Blood continued to flow from the injury he''d endured. He wrenched out the kunai still lodged in his shoulder to throw it to the ground. He summoned a red potion. The moment he drank it, the gruesome injury started to heal. First, the cracked and chipped bone, then followed by his muscles, veins, and finally his skin. After the healing process was complete, his shoulder was repaired, good as new.

    "Sig¡ª"

    "Where do you think you''re going?"

    Air stuck in Crescent''s throat, dread consuming him. Rev stood behind him. He casually bent down to take up his kunai stabbed into the earth. He turned it to reveal a seal which was carved on its blade.

    "It''s a shame you didn''t look closer at this. Perhaps then you might have had time to prepare. Your teleport skill is still on cooldown, it''s checkmate."

    Rev''s black and green aura surged. Crescent fled, soaring into the sky because he sensed impending violence. Despite his attempted flight, Rev''s speed overwhelmed him. The moment he took off the ground, Rev had followed. Two slashes were the only things he saw and felt. Just from them, his HP bar reduced by half. Three magical circles formed a triangle beneath Crescent. He then chanted a spell in a language foreign to Rev.

    He didn''t want to leave anything to chance, so upon noticing the magical circles, he flung his knife towards Crescent, who was still chanting. By the time the knife reached him, it stopped but an inch away from his vulnerable throat. Deafening silence enveloped the world. It was like the calm before the storm, the silence but a prelude to a horror yet to come.

    A thundering explosion engulfed both players. Crescent was sent flying above. It took time before he could stabilize his trajectory. Dust filled the air. Rocks below crumbled and fell, filling the canyon as a result of the explosion. Crescent couldn''t see anything. He couldn''t determine where Rev was nor what state he was in.

    A murderous intent gave Crescent pause. He turned to see the cloaked figure of Rev. Crescent formed a shield to defend himself, however, his opponent easily broke it. Rev, once again, became a flash of green and black light. He rocketed through Crescent multiple times, further damaging him with each hit. Rev accelerated every time he struck successfully. Soon it felt as if he was hitting Crescent from every direction at once.

    Looking from above, Rev formed something that appeared to be a dark green star, Crescent becoming its core.

    Crescent''s HP was chipped down until it reached 10% causing his bar to glow bright red. Crescent attempted escaping from the brutal barrage by invoking multiple shields. However, they were all destroyed instantly. Left with no other choice, he summoned a red orb from his inventory.

    Rev dashed towards Crescent, intending on finishing him, but he noticed the newly summoned orb. It transfigured into a ball of fire and then stretched. It finalized its form after taking various types, becoming a flame eastern dragon. The dragon roared with supreme might. It trained on Rev immediately, its jaws opened wide. Just before biting down into him, it exploded becoming a surging wave of fire.

    The explosion turned the sky crimson with flames. The air itself burned, creating a thick cloud of smoke. Crescent examined Rev, still breathing heavily after that surprise retaliation. He detected no sign of movement. Reflexively, knowing his opponent''s fighting style somewhat, Crescent looked up. Above him, Rev was on the offense again already.

    Rev dove at him at an insane rate. It could not be blocked, and there was no time for a reaction. Intuition could not save him. Rev''s kunai plunged deeply into Crescent''s chest with a wet thud as they collided. The force of this final strike drove his opponent''s corpse to crash on the ground, digging a grave for him in the process.

    Crescent''s HP was zero.

    Rev landed beside Crescent and clinically eyed his opponent''s corpse with cold diamond-like eyes. He sheathed his knife and recalled his aura from it. Crescent''s corpse slowly collapsed into colorful dust; first, his feet, followed by the rest of his body. However, right before his face collapsed, a mocking smile caressed Crescent''s lips. Rev stared blankly at the spot where Crescent had left the world. His heart sank, the smile bothering him. Cold sweat dripped down his back. Rev turned towards the site of the main battle, back towards the World Serpent. Its HP was at 5%. He heaved a sigh of relief, feeling foolish over worrying for nothing, even if the smile was peculiar. Relieved as he was, the golden and purple orb he''d summoned told him his job was not over yet.

 2 Crescent Domination

    The orb that revealed Crescent''s presence pulsated once again, warning Rev of a further plot of some sort. It was him, and he was alive and well. He''d appeared above the boss, the sclera of his eyes turned black, his blue pupils now red. He emanated a dark aura, towering hundreds of feet above the ground. Multiple red magic circles formed and rotated all around him. These magic circles flew out and encircled the World Serpent, creating a six-headed star. Nine flame dragons flew out from the magical star. All of them far larger than the dragon that had formed as his supposedly final gambit against Rev. This was his true strength!

    The nine dragons stood majestically before the Black Moon players. The blonde priest, Truth, materialized a grey orb. The object pulsated, generating a wave of disturbance that rippled through the mighty dragons. It had no effect.

    "Truth, don''t waste orbs. That''s a sixth tier magic spell, we can''t counter it. Wait until it''s completed, and then we shall direct fire at it. There is no way he can one-shot the boss from 5% using that spell. He can''t do it. Don''t worry."

    "Alright, Leo. It''s Crescent''s loss for being foolish," the purple-haired Fate responded.

    While Black Moon''s members were discussing the matter, Crescent took further action, summoning a purple staff. He started chanting, and as he did, multiple dark magic circles generated one after another until six had assembled. They flew towards the World Serpent. They completed yet another six-headed star.

    Leo, noticing the nature of the dark spell, was shocked, then galvanized into action. Clouds gathered when he raised his sword high up in the sky. Thunder rumbled, then a bolt appeared to strike down towards aloft Crescent. He was unaffected in every way.

    A spheric shield shimmered around Crescent. It had no cracks, despite the colossal power of Leo''s golden lightning.

    "Dammit!" Leo cursed, before issuing commands. "All, take him down at any cost!"

    Quickly, Vez and Fate began chanting, but their reactions were too slow. A very light blue ball of flame, shining a thousand times brighter than the most luminous stars, appeared before the World Serpent. Space folded, and the boss'' figure was disfigured. As though it were a black hole, the blue star sucked in the World Serpent.

    The nine dragons that gathered around the boss stood impassively, unaffected by the immense gravity field generated by the star. The star imploded gradually, having reached the end of its brief life. While that occurred, all the dragons dove towards the World Serpent. The myriad of colors from another explosion blinded onlookers. Uttering a final cry, the World Serpent became a million specks, all rainbow-colored.

    Black Moon''s members stared intensely, shock and awe evident on their faces, at the dead boss. They hadn''t thought it possible, but 5% of its lifespan was terminated by one person''s spells.

    Fate''s perverted expression made Leo shudder. He shook his head vigorously before chastising, "Fate, this is no time for you to go insane!" He activated telepathic communication. "Shesmu, we need assistance. When are you showing?!"

    Shesmu''s response came quick. "Don''t worry. I''ll be there in a second. We were just preparing a little something."

    Having heard Shesmu''s confident words, the members of Black Moon calmed, reassured that not all was yet lost. Realizing just how powerful Crescent had become was extremely demoralizing. However, their belief in their leader helped them remember the fight was not over. It alleviated their worries simply because of their belief in him. Crescent stood aloof in the sky, looking down on the Black Moon members with his cold, dark eyes. He raised his right arm high, calling forth a black flame that flew from the palm of his hand. The black flame enlarged until it overshadowed the sun itself.

    "Everyone, run!" Leo shouted, recognizing the threat this attack posed.

    All players immediately dispersed, moving in all different directions per evacuation procedures. The

    ball of flame continued to grow, and it wasn''t long before this behemoth of a spell dwarfed every spell that had been used since.

    Crescent''s cold eyes trailed Black Moon as they fled upon his attack. The dark energy emanating from him gave him an aura of dark eldritch majesty. His hand drew an arc towards his fleeing enemies, as he did, the ball of flame followed the path drawn.

    Leo was aware of the moment the fireball launched, looking back at it. He ceased to move. Its speed was mind-boggling. He couldn''t outrace it, nor could anyone else. An object of such size shouldn''t achieve such terrifying velocity, yet tangible evidence that he was mistaken was presented to him.

    He felt an urge to run again, but before he could move a step, he halted again. He glanced at his map. His teammates had run far, but it would not be far enough. Considering the apparent power of this spell Crescent had employed, Leo determined what the radius of its shockwave might''ve been like. His teammates wouldn''t be able to escape the impact.

    Leo faced it, the colossal black ball of power surging towards him. His black hair fluttered in the wind, and his green eyes shined with a piercing light. His eyes shut and he chanted.

    A golden light shined beneath Leo''s feet. Five magical circles rotated, resonating with high speed before converging into a single enormous one. Leo''s body was clad in a golden aura. A large shield manifested itself, strapping onto his arm. He plunged it deep into the earth. Etched on the facing side of the shield was a lion''s face.

    The golden aura emanating from Leo completely focused on his shield, imbuing it a blinding intensity. The particles of light emanating from it became denser and denser. They flew out to the sky and a torrent of light pierced the heavens. Golden lightning formed and thunder rumbled throughout the skies.

    "Stay where you are!" Leo''s order was firm. "This is our last stand."

    Having heard Leo''s telepathic order, all Black Moon''s members froze in their tracks, turning around to look in the direction where Leo''s call had originated. Their gazes were solemn.

    The golden pillar reached out in the skies to the point where it was visible to them all. From the top of it, they could see particles of light flying in an arc towards them, and then beyond. A golden thread remained in their wake. Billions of particles flew, making the top of the golden pillar resemble the form of a radiant dome.

    The clash was high. Everyone held their breaths. The world was sucked into an oxymoronic silence, only white noise serving as the background. The ball of black flame reached the dazzling dome¡ªonly, there was no clash. The fire of doom passed through the golden dome as though it was air. It continued on its trajectory towards the members of Black Moon. By this point, there was no retreat.

    Silence. A moonless night embraced the world. That serene and soothing darkness was ever-present. Such as one where you''d crawl into in the face of danger, searching for safety. A blast of fire illuminated the world, accompanied by a chilling sharp cry. The golden flames converged, and from the mesh, a dragon soared.

    Like dawn after a long night, the cleared dragon burned the sky incandescently with a flap of its golden wings. The darkness disintegrated, only to reveal the members of Black Moon, unharmed. They examined themselves, inspecting their statuses to see if anything had been inflicted on them. They found nothing, and their HP was also full. They looked around, expecting to see the large boulders nearby crumbling, or gray clouds of dust billowing, but to their surprise, they instead saw the green adorning the forest.

    It remained intact. Birds chirped, animals ran, and the trees continued exhaling oxygen into the atmosphere. The black fireball had done nothing that was obvious, it was as though it were an illusion. But an illusion it was not, and every player present knew exactly that.

    A blade of grass danced with the wind. From its tip, a golden orb emerged. Every blade did as well. A torrent of golden lights emerged from the earth. No matter where your eyes searched, a flow of golden light rose. Trees, shrubs, grass and even animals emitted a soothing holy light that converged into a massive airborne stream.

    Fate looked around her, taking in the magical scene in front of them, before focusing on herself. From her right arm, particles of light emitted. Then, her whole body glowed golden. The other Black Moon members experienced the same phenomena. Their light rose to merge with the stream. It moved to one location all could see: the light pillar.

    Crescent examined the golden pillar with his glacial eyes. His expression was aloof, and he seemed immovable. Despite that sense you''d get by looking at his face, his expression broke into a smile.

    "You really know how to put on a show, Leo."

    Within the golden pillar, Leo was gritting his teeth. Thousands upon thousands of damage ticks gnawed at his HP bar. This light was as soothing as a summer breeze for his teammates, but for him, it was more scorching than Hell''s fire. His tanned skin, filled to the brim with vitality and vigor, turned dry. Patches of Leo''s skin peeled off and burned to ashes by the golden flames.

    While the golden orbs continued to converge on the light pillar, Fate turned to her comrades, taking charge. "Everyone! Snap out of it! Crescent isn''t just gonna stand there and let us watch this spectacle. Now we need to buy time until the leader comes! Disperse!"

    No words were said as everyone followed Fate''s command. Crescent''s power was great so they didn''t have time to idly chatter. They dispersed, all three in different directions, not willing to waste a single moment of their reprieve.

    While Black Moon''s members scattered, Crescent stood where he remained above in the sky, the same place he had slain the World''s Serpent. He wasn''t paying the fleeing players any heed, instead, his focus directed solely upon the pillar of light. The contrast between the dark aura oozing out of his body and the golden light gave the scene a surrealistic element.

    The light eventually died, as the ashes scattered quickly. Crescent watched as the wind carried off the remains of Leo before they could no longer be seen. His void eyes lingered on that spot where Leo had passed, standing gallantly for a couple of seconds. His piercing gaze restored as he decided to act again. His focus shifted on the remaining Black Moon players.

    At that moment, Fate and her teammates felt his gaze penetrating them from behind. They all halted, looking back, stunned by the ferocity of his gaze. It shook their foundations. Crescent didn''t move, raising his arm high again. That same orb of darkness converged in his palm. It grew in size, again and again, until it dwarfed everyone and everything in sight. Once again it was a giant ball of madness ready to consume all life.

    The ball then compacted. At a rapid, uneven and discontinued pace, it kept growing smaller and smaller. By the end, the ball was barely half the size of its wielder, though it was still black. A void, such darkness could never exist in this fair world.

    Fate was fearful for the first time. Terror consumed her as she witnessed the birth of a new worse monstrosity. It was as if reality had ripped open above Crescent. The universe itself seemed unable to accept his power. Primal fear oozed from her. It filled her, giving her goosebumps. Had she feathers, they''d be ruffled.

    "What are you guys doing?!" Fate demanded, attempting to take command. "D¡ªDisperse!"

    "No," a counter-command was issued quickly along the telepathic channel. "Stay where you are."

    Fate was surprised. "Leader?"

    "Vez," Shesmu continued. "Prep a mass TP spell! Everyone, gather towards him!"

    "Roger that!" Everyone responded simultaneously.

    The team sprang into action. Vez chanted at a high speed when a dark purple magical circle appeared below him. The circle continued to grow until it reached the diameter of a small room. By then, Fate had already caught up to him, waiting for the rest of the members to converge on them.

    Seeing that Vez was intensely focused, Fate refrained from disturbing him. Her attention was drawn back towards the elephant in the room¡ªCrescent. She was shocked by what her eyes landed on. The void ball was still floating in the air, suspended above his hands. The orb had reduced to no larger than a tennis ball. Even so, it had a menacing aura far larger than its real size. This flame grew bigger and bigger, and so did the fear that grasped Fate''s heart.

    Another ball of void was born beside the other, making it one per hand. The two radiated that same incredible power. The tension in the air announced loudly that they were ready to be launched, and they did as Crescent flicked both of his indexes. Upon that signal, the orbs vanished.

    Fate''s instincts screamed. After filling the air with menace, those horrible orbs had simply disappeared. Her eyes darted in every direction. She spotted them as she knew she would, because they would not simply dissolve. They vanished the moment her eyes locked upon them, only to appear yet again, now hundreds of meters closer to Fate and Vez''s position. She screamed a command. "Everyone! Get your ass over here and fast! We don''t have time left!"

    "Give me ten seconds," responded Truth.

    "We don''t have that!" Fate yelled. "Crescent is gonna demolish us! Rev, where are you?!"

    Rev''s response came instantly. "Behind you."

    Fate looked behind her in time to see Rev wading out of her shadow as if it were a pool. She was already used to Rev''s penchant for dramatic appearances. Thus, she didn''t react, except to chew him out. "Oh, goddamnit! Get serious and while you''re at it, go get Truth here! We need to escape!"

    "Roger," He simply responded, diving back into her shadow. Watching Rev disappear as dramatically as he appeared, Fate sighed and stomped her foot. "Damnit, that''s why he''s single. He''s so creepy! Does he live in my shadow?!"

    While Fate rambled on, the orbs of darkness refused to wait for her complaints to end. They were barely a hundred meters away from the teleportation circle, yet Black Moon still had no answer. Fate felt her heart stop its steady beating when a blurry, greenish shadow appeared in the corner of her vision. "Leader?!" she exclaimed.

    He appeared, a dark green aura surrounding him, dressed in a black cloak, leaping from branch to branch amidst the trees of the forest, and through the flower-scented air. Black hair floated in the air, brown skin dully reflected the sun, but his hazel eyes reflected it brilliantly, conveying confidence and charm. His lips were pressed into a thin line, his hand firmly gripping the hilt of his sword. He kicked up into the air, the force of his motion generating shockwaves.

    After revealing his presence to Fate for just a moment, he surged towards the ebony orbs, faster than the eye could see. He reached them instantly, using iaijutsu to cleave a ball in twain. He then stood mid-air, resheathing his sword. His cloak fluttered in the air. The disrupted energy erupted into a black explosion tinged with purple. The forest had burst in black flames. Animals wailed in pain as the trees sighed silently as they expired.

    Foiled somewhat, Crescent wasn''t defeated. The second ball remained in play and was lurching towards Vez'' teleportation circle. Midway towards its target, it changed course to eliminate Shesmu. This ebony monstrosity had grown immensely, disintegrating everything in its path. Trees, stone, animals, everything it touched¡­ simply ceased to be.

    Despite this apparent menace, Shesmu was motionless, awaiting it. Like Crescent''s own, his eyes were cold, filled with disinterest. He raised his hand, and slowly swiped it horizontally as it reached him. He caught the rampaging dark spell. Upon its capture, there was no impact and no clash of tribulation. It seemed as though he was a child catching a goliath baseball. It gently rested against his hand, as though it snuggled it. Shesmu closed his palm, and in doing so, the ball ceased to exist. There was no fanfare or fallout to accompany its expiration.

    Shesmu kept staring at his palm, finding the minute hairs and imperfections upon it more interesting than Crescent¡ªor his works.

    Having witnessed this casual dismissal of his second massive orb which had caused Leo to sacrifice his own life to counter it for the sake of his companions... simply confounded Crescent. "How?!" was all he could utter in response.

    Shesmu slowly raised his head and made eye contact with Crescent, despite the distance between their positions.

    Crescent joined his mind telepathically with Shesmu. "I could understand," Crescent answered that silent gaze. "that you could cleave apart my spell. What I can''t fathom is how you could have managed the second. No, considering how much energy went into creating that ball, even I''d have trouble were I in your place, simply attempting to mitigate it! To simply catch it and fondle one of my strongest spells like that! How could you?!"

    Shesmu listened to Crescent''s dismayed words. In the end, he could only sigh.

    "Your berserk spell is about to run out. Are you giving up on the match?"

    Crescent gritted his teeth. In response to the challenge, he summoned six further dark magic circles, which generated this time a purple orb before him. It looked as though he might launch it in a last feeble attack on Shesmu, but instead he seized it, cramming it into his mouth.

    He bared his teeth and gnashed them even harder as the black aura enveloped him. Its pulsing became spastic and chaotic. It grew upwards, towering high above, becoming a dark pillar connecting the sky to the earth.

    "When I ask questions!" A massive wave washed throughout the field menacingly. "You best answer!" With those words delivered, the world became monochromatic. Multiple white orbs appeared around Crescent one after the other, each imbued with as much energy the ones he''d spawned.

    "You''ve greatly underestimated me. Perish in this domain I''ve created. All shall! The end of this farce has arrived!"

    The orbs Crescent freshly summoned disappeared, to appear right before Shesmu as a challenge, and a finishing move. An immense explosion engulfed him, generating shockwaves which disrupted even the fabric of space and time. The rest of the Black Moon members braced themselves for the impact, understanding this would be an end to the fight yet they stood firm.

    Crescent then looked at them next, and summoned yet another orb, adequate enough to end them as well, to put an end to the battle. He reached back behind him and savagely cast it, to finish them off in a single stroke. The ensuing explosion engulfed all.

    After having expended so much energy, Crescent was near to collapse. His breath came and went sharply and rapidly. His eyes glazed and dulled with exhaustion. He calmed his breathing with difficulty, looking at the massive dissipating cloud of dust that was all that remained of the field before him. Despite the apparent destruction of all, he knew he hadn''t ended the fight yet.

    Shesmu walked unscathed into the clearing by Crescent from the chaotic dust filling the air, blocking all sight. His steps were measured and deliberate as he air-walked. His eyes darted to the direction of his teammates. A gust of wind dispersed all the dust to reveal them, as uninjured as he. They quickly gathered to Vez''s position before altogether teleported. After they vanished, a tall man wearing a robe walked to the fore. His sharp eyes met Shesmu''s.

    "Cain," Shesmu muttered. His eyes darted back to Crescent.

    "It seems that you''re suffering under a severe misunderstanding, Crescent," Shesmu announced raising his sword. "You seem to believe that because you''ve managed to achieve a Tier-VI mastery level of magic, we''re somehow equal. I''ll cure you of that delusion now." He slashed the air before him, slowly. It seemed as though it was just a feint.

    With that seemingly feeble half-hearted stroke, reality itself rent.

    The monochromatic domain Crescent had created shattered into black shards. Color leached back into the world as those shards fell to earth, vanishing. Crescent watched with dismay as his domain ceased to be. The black aura which surrounded his body sickened and thinned, his eyes returned to their original blue coloration.

    Crescent staggered, losing a meter of elevation, before he marshaled his strength, stopping mid-air. Doing so required great effort. His hand lifted to conjure a purple magic circle, but before it could fully take form, it shattered. Willpower meant nothing in the face of his exhaustion. He stared at his shaking hand and let out a self-deprecating laugh. He then looked at Shesmu, locking eyes with him. He closed his own, silently surrendering.

    Knowing his opponent defeated, Shesmu flickered towards Crescent to finish him with a single thrust. He didn''t resist, his blade pierced Crescent''s body, through his heart. Blood welled from the wound, spraying with steady pulses around the blade from front and rear. It showered down to the ground, nourishing the forest he''d damaged. Crescent coughed up blood, spattering Shesmu''s face with it. His body then slowly turned to naught but particles.

    While Crescent''s body still clung to Shesmu''s, a dark frame appeared behind the latter. It was yet another Crescent. His body was filled to the brim with his dark energy, his pupils still blood-red. He opened a potion bottle to drink from it. He pointed his finger towards Shesmu''s back. An orb of energy no bigger than a pebble was conjured on the spot. Lightning wreathed around it. The amount of energy perceived within it eclipsed any single spell he''d used. He continued pouring yet more mana into the orb. Then¡ªa blade pierced through his back.

    Crescent''s sight faded again, unable to catch sight of his assailant. He no longer saw Shesmu before him. It had to have been him, yet again. He was outplayed. He crooked his neck towards one side where he knew he''d find Shesmu. He was right where he''d expected, a sword going through your back is probably a very good indicator that your attacker is there. Once again, his blade was stabbed through his heart.

    "I must pay you a compliment, Crescent. That cracked magical circle trick was nice. You almost fooled me. I could believe you truly had run out of tricks."

    Crescent feigned shock at the grudging compliment before allowing himself to crack a smile. He had to ask something and hoped for an answer, this time around. "How did you notice?"

    Shesmu looked at him with those same disinterested eyes before his face''s own composure broke as he smiled. "Consider these words as advice from your senior. The farther you thread into the sixth tier, the more attuned with the elements you become. Of course, spacetime is no exception to that rule."

    Receiving an answer was everything Crescent needed. A smile filled his face. He closed his eyes contented with how things had transpired. He became a thousand particles, which fluttered in the wind as they dissolved, raining down to the earth below as rainbow-hued light.

 3 Cains Magnum Opus

    With the threat of Crescent vanquished, Fate could finally sigh in relief. Truth was replenishing Vez'' vigor using her spells, while the latter rested under the shade of a tree. Suddenly, a portal opened. A man wearing a dark robe stepped out of it.

    "Cain." Truth stopped her treatment of Vez and walked closer to the dark magician. "Crescent stole the World Serpent. So, the fight against the guardian is going to be hard."

    "Oh, about that." Cain summoned a scroll to his hand. "We went and got this, me and Shes."

    "Oh, a summoning scroll! Nice one, Cain." Fate jumped on Cain''s back and scratched his head. Her chest rubbed dangerously against Cain''s back, making the latter uncomfortable.

    "Stop it, Fate." Cain tried to squirm out of Fate''s hold, but there was no escaping. She clung to him like an overgrown child on her father''s back. In the end, he sighed and gave up.

    "Oh, what type of summon are we talking about?" asked Vez, his complexion was much improved after Truth''s treatment.

    "An arcane dragon," responded Cain still weighed down by Fate who was still straddling his back.

    "Oh, a legendary rank beast? That''s rare!" Fate slid off Cain''s back and hopped around him to get a closer look at the scroll. "Let me see, let me see. It''s been a while since one dropped for us."

    Cain''s shoulders dropped in disappointment. "Can you be a little more serious? This is still a final, you know?"

    In response to Cain''s comment, Fate waved her hands off, uninterested. "Who cares? It''s just a regional. Let''s have some fun! Now, gimmie that scroll!"

    Cain sighed and said, "Here, take it." He lobbed the scroll for Fate to catch. The moment she caught it, she looked at the words inscribed in gold on its sides.

    While Fate was playing around with her new toy, Cain slipped away in case she remembered and decided to cling onto him again.

    Vez, noticing his teammate''s peril, signaled him to come over. Truth, on the other hand, struck a conversation with Fate to divert her.

    "So, how was the fight against a Tier-VI that ain''t me or Shes?" Cain sat next to Vez.

    "Terrifying," Vez responded. However, his expression wasn''t one of terror, but instead, he wore a smile of excitement. "We were totally, and completely outclassed. There was no point in fighting, even using Final Sacrifice, Leo was only able to guard one of his spells."

    "Yes." A voice came from behind the tree. Rev walked from its shadow, revealing his tall stature. "Even in a one-on-one fight, I was from start to finish in his grasp. It''s shameful to say this, but the whole time I was completely under the influence of his illusion."

    Rev nodded in understanding. He was a man of few words, so he didn''t comment on Cain''s advice. He took it to heart and decided to let his actions show his determination. Vez, on the other hand, broke eye contact and looked away smiling.

    This gesture didn''t go unnoticed by Cain. He knew he''d touched upon a sensitive subject when speaking of the future. He put his hand on Vez''s knee, forcing the latter to look straight into his eyes.

    "Vez, look at me. Family comes first, you know that?"

    Vez nodded at Cain''s words, but the self-deprecating smile didn''t leave his face.

    "Don''t¡ªfeel¡ªbad¡ªabout¡ªthis. Look at me in the eye. Just¡ªdo¡ªnot¡ªfeel¡ªbad," Cain repeated himself. This time taken between every single word uttered was to drive his point home. "Go home and play with your Allen. That''s your kid''s name, right? How old is he?"

    "He just turned four, a few weeks ago," answered Vez with a smile.

    "The cute little thing," Cain remarked. "And you were thinking of leaving the cute little creature alone, for what? We''re already four-time world champions, what more glory do you need for a legacy?"

    Both Cain and Vez laughed. It''s true. After said aloud, everything seemed so senseless. Vez looked at Cain with eyes that reflected sharply the morning light.

    "You''re right. We''ve had more than enough fun in these ten years. If I had one complaint, it''s that I wasn''t able to reach the sixth tier before retirement."

    "What are you talking about?" Cain laughed. "You were the first one to reach the fifth tier before, ain''t that enough?"

    "Haha." Vez laughed. "Yeah, that''s true. It would be a bit too greedy to ask for more."

    "That''s what I''m saying!" Cain exclaimed and then stood to land a hand on Vez. "Here, get up. Once Allen is of age, tell him to come over to see uncle Cain. We''ll have some fun together."

    Vez looked at Cain''s hand and smiled. He then took it and hopped back up.

    "I''m sure he would love it because he watches every game. Actually, he is watching right now."

    "Oh, really?" Cain smiled. "Then let''s make this a show that he will love¡ª"

    "But, before that, I have to ask you¡­"

    "Hmm?" Noticing that the conversation wasn''t done yet, Cain returned his focus back to Vez.

    "What about you? Aren''t you tired of this game? I mean, you''ve been with the guild since the beginning of it, before any of the rest of us."

    "Ah, me¡­" Cain''s eyes turned hazy, memories flooded him like water surging from a broken dam. "I can''t leave just yet. I still have something to do." He paused for a few seconds, thinking about how to formulate his next words, "You see, Shesmu is carrying a heavy burden. I cannot let him face it alone. That''s why, I''ll see this to the end, no matter how long it takes."

    Vez wanted to respond, but the words stuck in his throat. In the end, he just looked away and smiled, knowing that it was something he couldn''t understand even if he explained it to him.

    After his talk, Cain sensed something and turned around. A man clad in a black cloak flickered into existence.

    Shesmu walked over the grassy field towards the rest of the group. Everyone stopped chattering and directed their attention to their leader.

    "Crescent is dead. Let''s go finish this up before their team respawns. We have five minutes."

    No one said anything in response, not even Fate did, they knew that the talking time was now over. In resonance, they all teleported from the grassy field and appeared in front of an immense gate made of dark honey wood which was decorated with golden metal runes. Cain stepped up and pushed the door open.

    The gates opened with a creak, and a cloud of dust billowed out from the air pressure. Light seeped out from the crack of the open door. The darkness gave way to a new world, a green and beautiful one.

    A flight of doves escaped through the open door, while Cain and his teammates entered this new dimension. Immense white clouds decorated the blue sky. Green grass covered the lands, and from afar, a river flowed. They were on a ridge rising above this valley, a place where the sky was within one''s arms reach.

    * * *

    Shesmu stepped to Cain. "The floor is yours, Cain. I can''t do much against the boss, so we''ll be relying on you."

    Cain nodded to Shesmu. His eyes turned serious as he scanned the edge of the valley.

    A sharp cry from the depths unknown forced everyone to cover their ears. From below, a white reptilian limb rose and slammed on the grassy ground. Many luminous yellow eyes opened, and seven monstrous heads emerged.

    A titanic creature flew from underground. A beautiful, white dragon with seven heads opened its wings and soared into the skies. Each head had differently colored hair. From red to violet, the gamut of colors spanned the full spectrum of a rainbow. On its chest, a multicolored crystal was embedded. Five HP bars appeared above the beast, while its name was displayed in full golden.

    The Seven-Headed Hydragon Of Virtue

    Shesmu unsheathed his sword and stepped to the fore. "I''ll take the aggro in this fight. Rev, focus on disarming. Truth, heal me. Fate, Vez, ascension ritual Cain."

    "Understood," Everyone responded.

    The holy dragon dived with its seven heads towards Shesmu. It summoned a gale with its wings and roared in a display of its full might.

    Yellow lightning coursed along the dragon''s right arm as it raised its clawed limb. They glinted with a dangerous light. Shesmu coated his sword with a green aura, and jumped towards the dragon, ready for the impending impact.

    The clash of claw and steel reverberated. The red-colored head of this dragon looked directly at Shesmu with a cold reptilian glare, before opening its mouth. A torrent of blazing flames gushed out, forcing Shesmu to break the stalemate and guard against its scorching fire. Meanwhile, the yellow pate looked at Shesmu from above, before gathering light in its open mouth. The head turned down to bear down on Shesmu, its mouth wide open and a ball of lightning forming in its mouth''s epicenter.

    Shesmu braced for impact, but suddenly, the rampaging lightning was no more. It dissipated in the blink of an eye. A shadow flashed from behind the dragon''s yellow head, but Shesmu paid the movement no heed. He dashed towards the beast of virtue''s open chest and struck the rainbow-colored crystal. Its lively colors dimmed and grayed.

    The seven heads screeched in pain, while the main body swayed. The HP bars above the Boss shone in red, and the top bar decreased by a quarter. However, Shesmu didn''t stop his barrage. He kept slashing at the dragon''s body, leaving wound after wound. The monster''s HP kept decreasing until it reopened its eyes.

    Shesmu backed out, exiting the Boss'' range of attack. The Holy dragon of virtue raised its heads and cried out. Colors returned to its crystal and pulsated throughout the beast''s whole body. It took off with a flick of its wings and soared into the sky.

    Realizing what the Boss was about to do, Shesmu glanced at Cain. He was sitting, eyes closed and legs crossed in the middle of a blood-red magic circle, while Fate and Vez skirted the edges. They fed their power into the circle only for it to be absorbed by Cain.

    ''Crap, they''re not done yet.'' Shesmu glanced back at the dragon with all its seven mouths open, gathering energy in all of them. No choice, I need to tank this one.

    Magic circles started appearing in front of the beast''s open mouths, their colors matched that of their parent heads. Six magical circles finally appeared before each mouth, gathering unimaginable power inside each spell. Flames blazed, rocks formed, Thunder roared, the wind turned into tornadoes and water into jet torrents, plasma balls emerged and purple poison fog gushed out.

    Shesmu witnessed this agglomeration of elemental power. His whole body glowed a dark hue while black magical circles materialized below him. His brown eyes turned dark, and a white pentagram emerged from its depth. He whispered, "State Zero."

    And nothing happened. No green aura, no monochronic world, no flying magical circles. Even the dark aura that was surrounding his body was no more. Shesmu stood on the grassy ground, gazing up at the beast high in the sky preparing this armageddon of raging elements within its open jaws.

    The dragon roared with might. Its seven heads launched spells of every color. Lightning rumbled, flames blazed, small meteorites fell, and all kinds of other spells made their way towards Shesmu. He stayed silent, motionless.

    The man kept tracking the spells as they drew closer. For a moment, he was entranced by their beauty. However, it was but a fleeting thought before they melted into nothingness.

    Rocks decomposed, and jets of water turned into glassy static droplets before disappearing into thin air and giant hurricanes softened to a gentle breeze. The fire whiffed out of existence and so did the lightning dissipate. The balls of plasma quickly followed suit while the purple poison fog thinned out leaving only a light purple faint haze in its wake.

    "Cancel State."

    Shesmu''s eyes returned to their normal brown color. Black magical circles appeared below him before shattering and disappearing once more. His eyes darted back to where Cain was. The latter was clad in a dark orange aura. He opened his eyes and walked out of the blood-red. Fate and Vez stopped channeling their energy into the circle. They sat down on their butts, dizzy and lightheaded from the whole ordeal.

    "Here, the scroll."

    Even though Fate was tired, she still found the strength to throw the summoning scroll at Cain. He caught it with one hand before inspecting it. The golden letters on its side were written in a strange language. Cain whispered, "Arcane Dragon of the First Flame."

    With a quick motion, he opened the scroll. Blinding light radiated from it, forcing Cain to protect his eyes with his hand. He slowly opened it only to be greeted by a gargantuan beast. Fangs sharper than the most treacherous daggers, reptilian yellow eyes that pierce the soul and a snout that breaths whiffs of fire three meters long.

    The dark brown dragon was laying down, but it still towered over everything in sight besides its kin. The dark beast regarded Cain and said, "Thou which hath summoned me shalt receive the august essence of mine august being. The nectar of dreams is the poisoned well of the fool, may wisdom guide thy path to the original truth."

    The dark dragon raised its taloned foreleg gently and showed him his index claw. Cain fist-bumped the dragon''s claw before the latter turned ethereal. The beast decomposed into countless red particles. They gathered around Cain like moths on a bonfire before merging with the latter''s deep red aura. Energy flared around Cain becoming a torrent of red light that pierced the heavens. He stood motionless, amidst the flame-like aura. Jumping far above, he rose high enough to see eye to eye with the dragon of virtue. The aura that connected Cain to the clouds compressed and became a ball surrounding him. It then contorted in various forms before breaking out, appearing as a ghost of a dragon.

    Cain stood inside the dragon of flame, controlling its every movement. He flew to the holy beast in a flash, claws clashing with opposing talons and horns colliding. The flame dragon gathered fire in its mouth, it breathed hell upon its opponent. Cain followed up with a slash to the rainbow crystal in the holy dragon''s chest.

    The beast staggered backward, screeching in pain. However, Cain did not stop. He kept clawing away at his opponent while breathing fire upon it. The holy dragon''s HP decreased until the first bar was emptied.

    The holy beast opened its eye. Light shone from underneath, as it began to repel Cain. It soared into the sky with a mighty cry.

    Looking at the situation from afar, Shesmu panicked. "Everyone, run!"

    Cain flew into the sky, while Shesmu teleported to Fate and Vez. He seized each one-handedly and dashed away, towing them.

    Magical circles started winking into existence everywhere across the field. They were golden, and they emitted an intense light. This sharp glow became a pillar of light that speared into the sky. Everywhere the eye could see was soon covered in this light.

    Shesmu and his team fled with all their might. Fate turned to see the source of the commotion only for her jaw to drop. Humanoid creatures with wings flew out from the magical circles and soared high into the sky.

    "You¡ªyou''re joking! Are all of these¡­ angels?!"

    Shesmu grabbed Fate''s arm in a vise-like grip before teleporting away. Rev turned to watch the spectacle of a thousand angels rising from the ground before following suit.

    A moment later, Shesmu, Fate, and Vez materialized above the clouds, Rev followed them shortly. Shesmu floated midair while carrying Fate and Vez.

    "Leader, can you use Float on us?"

    Understanding their discomfort, Shesmu nodded and said, "Sure." He proceeded to invoke the spell in the depths of his mind and a transparent aura enveloped both subjects.

    "Yahoo!" The moment Fate regained control of her body, she flipped around in the air like a clown and laughed loudly.

    "Goddamnit, Fate. Can''t you be calm for like, one second?"

    Fate calmed and sat cross-legged in the air beside Shesmu.

    "I''m sorry, I''m sorry! It''s just that this is the most boring part of this whole situation, though. We''re just gonna sit here, spectator mode, while Cain gets all the limelight!" She pouted.

    Shesmu tilted his head, unamused by Fate''s outcry. "Yeah, can you tell me who lost the Serpent to the enemy team again? I forgot."

    Fate was frightened by Shesmu''s sudden shift of tone. His cold tone gave her shivers.

    "Hey, hey, hey! Don''t be angry, Leader. We didn''t know he had already achieved Tier-VI, else we would have burst it way earlier."

    "Haha, well, it''s not a problem this fight went like this." Spoken in an attempt to smooth things over, Vez butted in. "Thanks to that mishap, the world will see the first arcane transformation of a Tier-VI mage."

    "Ohh, that''s hype! Leader, you and Cain always go questing together, has he ever shown you his arcane transformation?"

    Shesmu gave Fate a questioning look. "No, he didn''t. Also, what the heck do you think arcane scrolls are? Candies you can buy at a shop?"

    Shesmu''s series of sarcastic questions made Fate chuckle nervously. "Though I do have an idea of what it might be," he continued, easing the tension with only his words, "and if his arcane transformation is anything like mine, it''s gonna go through six stages. Each one is fundamentally stronger than the last. Since it''s the Arcane of Fire, I''m guessing that its color would change at every stage."

    "Shesmu, can you please use your Orb of True Vision? I can''t use mine." Vez''s reminder spurred Shesmu into action. He summoned a white orb and activated it with his mind. A holographic screen appeared in front of it to show Cain facing the Boss.

    * * *

    He basked in the light of a thousand spells. Cain gazed around as the army of two-winged angels rose from the ground and pointed their spears at him. He then looked to the holy dragon which was inspecting him before he made a decision and issued a command, "Avatar mode activated. Arcane Stage II."

    The dragon of flame that encased Cain issued a piercing cry. It glowed bright red before melting and condensing into a ball of flame encompassing Cain as a cocoon. The ball of flame rotated at a high speed before it cracked and Cain emerged. A bright orange aura surrounded him while flaming wings sprouted from his back.

    Seeing his transformation, the holy beast flew towards Cain at high speed. Noticing the dragon''s movement, Cain looked back at the army of angels before diving right in. He gathered a ball of fire in his hand before throwing it at the enemies in front of him, killing dozens of the angel soldiers. He forged a path forward amidst his bloodthirsty opponents. He formed a giant hole in the enemy''s formation.

    From the corner of his eye, Cain looked at the movements of the mighty dragon. To his surprise, it flew in a straight line towards him, not caring about the thousands of its comrades in its way.

    Expecting a clash between the dragon and its minions, Cain stopped and repositioned himself. He waited for the opportune moment to strike. The dragon dived into its minions and passed through them like ghosts.

    Cain''s eyes dilated in surprise before he regained his composure and clicked his tongue.

    "No friendly fire mechanic¡­" He whispered.

    Not wasting any time, he sprang into action. Cain looked at the grassy ground below him before his fire aura grew bigger. Tongues of flame lashed out at the air, scorching the incoming angel army and keeping it at bay. The oversized aura then shrank and concentrated on Cain''s right fist, covering it in a ball of flame. He punched the ground and it cracked.

    Like an erupting volcano, the whole valley was split in two, fire and lava coming out of every crack. Rocks crumbled and fell into the river below the valley. Cain jumped into the crack he made before turning around and facing his enemies.

    The holy dragon bypassed all of its minions and crashed into the ground. Dust billowed and rocks were pulverized. However, the dragon couldn''t make it past the crack Cain made. It could only look at its enemy as it tried to reach him with its paw to no avail.

    Cain didn''t waste his opportunity. Orange magical circles appeared all around him, forming a hexagon. A fire laser launched from the middle of the formation, piercing the dragon.

    The beast howled in pain, but Cain didn''t ease the pressure, he comboed the first attack with another fireball, before dashing towards the dragon and punching its face with his flaming orange fist. The dragon was catapulted out of the crack and into the air before it regained its balance. The flurry of attacks quickly chipped at its Health bar, decreasing it by more than half.

    The Boss stood in the air, eyeing Cain who was still inside the Crack. It roared with might, beckoning for the army of angels. Its subordinates answered its call and dived down the crack.

    The angels pointed their spears forward and entered the crack one by one. Suddenly, Cain couldn''t see the light as hundreds of them covered the sky. He chanted a spell and wisps of flames popped into existence beside him one by one. They turned into bullets as they flashed towards the flying army.

    Spells bombarded the armed angels by the hundreds, however, they remained unscathed.

    "Damn, seems like that won''t cut it."

    "Arcane Stage III"

    The flames surrounding Cain, his wings and everything, they became more intense, they shone like a thousand stars before turning white.

    The angels lunged at Cain with their spears, while he countered with punches and kicks. His limbs clad in white fire, like the hammers of the heavenly forge. He would dodge by the tiniest of margins and strike with clean hits. Their flesh was nothing more than a cover for the metallic frame behind it, which Cain pulverized.

    However, the more angels Cain killed, the more surrounded him. By the tenth soldier he killed, Cain was already surrounded by all twelve directions.

    "Tch," His fists that were covered in flames shone brighter. He punched out, and before his fist could land, he punched again. Again, and again, and again, until his fist was but a blurry image of flaming missiles.

    With his ranging flurry, Cain opened up a pathway. The bright sky showed itself and he was finally able to get a breath of fresh air. Suddenly, the red head of the dragon covered the sun. It opened its mouth and gathered flames in its center, preparing to breathe hell into the earth.

    Cain clicked his tongue before focusing back on the angels surrounding him. He gathered flames on his hand and threw a fireball at his right side. The spell wreaked havoc on his enemies and left Cain an opportunity to flee. An opportunity he did not miss as the hellish breath of the dragon blazed through his previous position in the blink of an eye.

    Cain''s eyebrows furrowed at the gravity of the situation.

    "Arcane Stage IV!"

    A blue fire pulsated from Cain''s chest. It then covered his arms, legs, head, and finally wings. Like a blue phoenix, he soared in the air.

    He murmured a chant beneath his breath and six miniature sky blue magic circles appeared beneath his feet before immediately disappearing.

    Cain kept destroying angels left and right while the dragon kept looking for blind angles to fire its projectiles. In the meantime, he whispered his chants and the magical circles popped in and out of existence. This back and forth lingered for a minute or two before the army of angels dwindled to a non-threatening force.

    Cain looked up at the sky, catching a full sight of the seven-headed dragons. Something he wasn''t able to do for the last minute or so. His expression, however, wasn''t one of worry or distress, but a triumphant one. His grin spanned from ear to ear, a sight he rarely showed to his peers.

    "Flames of Genesis."

    Light sprouted from beneath Cain and illuminated the crater. Hundreds upon hundreds of magical circles popped out of nowhere.

    Blue flames surged and roared before engulfing Cain with their nightmarish tongues. He became fire, and soon enough, he turned into a blazing phoenix. His eyes glinted with a sky blue gleam. His sharp talons tore the air in preparation before he launched with mind breaking speeds.

    One punch. The mighty dragon couldn''t even follow Cain''s movement; he appeared right in front of it. Flames fluttering like wings, fists more solid than steel. With a clean uppercut, Cain shattered the dragon''s crystal, pulverizing it into rainbow-colored dust.

    The Hp bars above the Boss'' head plummeted, and life in its eyes dimmed. The holy dragon fell from the sky and plunged into the river. The crash caused a tsunami. Gigantic waves drowned the grassy plains.

    Cain stood high in the sky, flames surrounding him from all sides. He was looking at the dying dragon when his vision blurred. The wings of fire faded into a whisp as Cain lost his balance. He slowly dived down into the ground before falling on his back, exhausted.

    "Good job Cain, you did great."

    Shesmu suddenly appeared and so did the rest of his teammates.

    "Holy hell, you went all out. Look at this crater! Who''s gonna pay for the repair!"

    Fate''s obnoxious shouting and unfunny jokes brought a smile on everyone''s face. Even the usually stoic Cain couldn''t help but soften.

    "Once we get the prize money, we''ll have enough to cover the cost and more. Even after the snakes at the top take their cut, you''ll all have enough money to drown in booze until you die."

    At the mention of alcohol, Fate got even more excited than before.

    "Leader! Last time you said it''s gonna be your treat but chickened out. You better make it up for me this time or you''re never gonna hear the end of it on twitter!"

    Shesmu immediately regretted bringing up the matter of booze. His eyes darted in all directions trying to find a way out of this sticky situation. However, even though they saw his signals for help, neither Vez nor Cain stepped in to help. They let out a sigh in resonance. They looked at each other in surprise before letting out a laugh.

    "Hey, hey. You guys laugh all you want, but we''re still in-game. This is a final, you know?"

    "Yeah, well, we already won and¡ª"

    Vez was about to continue when his face froze.

    "Wait, we lost the Serpent. Can''t they base race us now?!"

    Everyone turned into high alert mode with Vez''s reminder. Even Cain who was on the ground resting tried his hardest to stand up.

    "That''s what I''m saying you apes. Let me call winter, hopefully, he made it back in time," Shesmu concluded.

    [No need.]

    [Yo winter!] Fate jumped into the call. ''Leader is freaking out here. First, he forgets about the booze, then he trolls around in the final and forgets that they stole the Serpent. Honestly, it''s kinda embarrassing.''

    "You little sh*t¡­" Shesmu seethed at Fate''s teasing, while Vez and Cain just breathed a sigh of relief knowing that matters at the base had cleaned up.

    [You don''t need to tell me that Shes is noob, I think we already established that ages ago. Though while you dipsh*ts were having fun trolling around in these regionals, I took care of the mess here. So, for the sake of everything that is holy, can you please end the game?! I''m getting bored out of my goddamn mind here!]

    Click.

    The connection was cut over, leaving Shesmu not able to say anything. A wry smile was plastered on his face, he didn''t know whether to be angry or laugh at the situation.

    "Okay, Winter is right. This is getting boring for both us and the fans, let''s finish it cleanly."

    Everyone nodded at Shesmu''s words.

    "Well, finishing the game is fine and all, but Leader, don''t forget about the booze!"

    * * *

    The crowd went into a frenzy. Black flags fluttered left and right as the fans of Black Moon cheered and screamed their lungs out. Flyers and flags flew all around the stadium and the atmosphere was festive.

    "Yay! Papa won!" Eva jumped in joy. She then looked at Sophie with sparkling eyes before shouting even louder. "Papa was so cool! And that red uncle was so cool too!"

    Sophie lightly chuckled. She looked at her daughter before landing her hand. "Come, let''s go to papa. He is waiting for us."

    Eva nodded happily and took her mother''s hand. Sophie verbalized a command in her mind. Access restricted area. Code name: BlackMoon. Sponsor: Dawn''s Resonance.

    A cold metallic voice responded in her head. Access granted. Welcome, Sophie of the Crimson Desert.

    The pair of mother and daughter disintegrated into shiny particles before disappearing. They teleported to a hallway. It was dark, illuminated only by the dim light of the torches on the walls.

    "Mama, this place is scary¡­" Eva''s previously cheerful demeanor died down. She fidgeted in her place. Lips trembling, she latched on her mother''s lap, too scared to stay alone in the dark damp corridor.

    Sophie crouched to the level of her daughter before caressing her hair. "I''m sorry. It''s scary, isn''t it? I always told Mark that their aesthetics were not the most pleasant. But¡­ Oh, well." Sophie lifted Eva from below her armpits before putting her in a princess carry. "Here, Mama will carry you." Sophie''s smile turned into a grin before she leaned in and went for a belly rub.

    "Hahaha, Mama! Stop it!" Eva continued laughing even as she shouted and flailed around, making Sophie giggle in return. She then looked at Eva in her eyes and smiled. "See, no more scary place, right?"

    The couple laughed all the way as they walked through the corridor. Barely one minute of walking and they reached an inconspicuous room. Sophie put down her daughter before saying.

    "Papa is in that room. I''ll go and talk to him. You stay patiently here and be a good girl, ok¡ª"

    "What do you mean he is out?!!!"

    Before Sophie could even finish her words, a scream from inside the room shook her. She recognized her husband''s voice. Sophie''s eyes opened in surprise at the sudden outburst, she looked at the door before focusing back on her daughter. She smiled and then said with a soft voice.

    "Eva, can you stay here? Mama will be right back."

    She walked with hurried steps and opened the door, a frown covering her face. There she saw two men staring at each other. One was slim and tall, black hair covering his head. The other was plump with an orange mustache and his hair was cut short.

    "Shade," Shesmu''s eyes were sprouting fire as he stared at the man in front of him. "When we started this org, ten years ago. Ten fucking years ago! Do you know who was on that table too? Do you know?!"

    Shade, the overweight man darted his eyes away from Shesmu before muttering. "Shes, this is really out of my control¡ª"

    "Cain was fucking there! Yes, he was sitting there, since the start of this whole mess. And now you''re telling me we are gonna fire him. Are you kidding me?!" Shesmu could no longer hold back. His teeth were grinding. He clenched his fist so hard blood dripped out. His eyes never once looked away from the shuddering Shade, who was fidgeting on his shoes and looking away at the ground.

    Mustering up more courage, Shade clenched his fist and looked at Shesmu in the eyes. "Shesmu. This is a higherup decision. It''s Dawn that made it! Cain just doesn''t follow the narratives. We already talked about this so many¡ª"

    "He brings wins!" Shesmu''s face couldn''t stop contorting. He slammed the table next to him, breaking every utensil on his way, and grabbed Shade from his collar then lifted him from the ground. Shesmu looked at him straight in the eyes and shouted at the top of his lungs. "He brings championships, that''s what he brings!"

    Shesmu''s teeth stopped grinding, his furrowed eyebrows relaxed. He looked away from Shade for the first time since the start of this conversation before saying in a soft voice. "Honestly, I can''t believe it. After everything, we went through..."

    Shesmu eased his grab on Shade''s collar, setting the latter free. Shade fell on the ground and coughed, gasping for breath.

    "Shesmu, I''m as mad as you are. This is wrong! I know. But even if I''m not the one to fire him, they''ll just fire me and bring someone else to do it. My hands are tied."

    "Stop." Sophie''s voice cut in like a sharp knife through the conversation. Both Shesmu and Shade turned their heads in response to her.

    "What is going on?" She asked. But her voice was lower than usual. It was cold, as cold as her eyes as she observed Shade''s every movement. She locked her eyes with his, making him shudder.

    Shade gulped. He sat up then walked towards Sophie trying to explain his position. "Sophie, look, I''m really sorry. Due to circumstances outside my control¡ª"

    "Enough." Sophie cut in. "Get out of here." Her eyes never broke contact, and her voice was always low. But behind it was a commanding tone that could not be disobeyed.

    Shade, flustered, couldn''t help but step back. He staggered before complying and leaving the room.

    Shesmu looked at Sophie, his eyes lost, his arms low and his hands open. They walked towards each other with staggering steps before falling into an embrace.

    Hot tears streamed down Shesmu''s cheeks. His vision clouded and his throat hoarse. He felt Sophie''s touch on his face. She caressed him and cleaned the tears out of his eyes. Her emerald green eyes stared into his soul, beckoning him to share his suffering. "Mark, what happened?"

    "Cain, no¡ªAllan, Dawn decided they no longer need him¡­" He paused as if to process the same words that left his mouth. "And for what?" He asked with a self-deprecating laugh. "Just because he didn''t scream some cringy speech before he battles like the rest of us bastards do, he is fired! Allan! Allan who was here since the beginning of this goddamn guild!"

    Sophie was shocked. Her eyes widened and her fist tightened. However, she quickly grabbed hold of herself and didn''t fall to panic. She hugged Shesmu harder than she ever did before. Her warmth, her love, her everything, he received it all.

    "Sophie¡­" So he bawled, his speech interrupted by his hiccups. He cried, he screamed at the top of his lungs. He screamed at his own weakness, unable to even defend his best friend. He screamed at the skies and the gods and damned them all, for they destroyed what he worked so hard to build. He screamed and kept screaming, for his innards were crumbling, and they would continue to do so until he is but a hollow husk.

    "Papa!" This voice he knew. The voice of a child, his own. He opened his eyes but the sight was too blurry, so he couldn''t see. He cleared up his tears, and there she was, Eva, shocked and unable to understand what happened in front of her.

    Shesmu smiled. Years of acting in front of crowds of millions let him mask his sorrow. He couldn''t show his weakness to his daughter, that he could never do.

    "Eva? What are you standing there in a daze for? Come and give papa a hug!"

    Seeing Shesmu''s jovial attitude, Eva lost all her reservations and jumped in for a hug.

    "Ah, there you go. That''s more like it."

    Eva chuckled in Shesmu''s arm before asking, "But papa, why were you crying?"

    Shesmu looked at Eva and gave her a questioning look. He then pinched her cheeks and played around with them.

    "Smelly girl, who do you think is crying, huh? See this smile on papa''s face, give me your best one too!"

    Eva smiled even as Shesmu was pulling at her cheeks. Her teeth showed themselves in full splendor.

    "Like this?..."

    "Pfft." Shesmu couldn''t help but chuckle. Eva''s face, when she tried talking while he was pulling at her cheeks, was hilarious even for the pained Shesmu.

    "So, you got to watch the game. Did you have fun?"

    Eva beamed a bright smile at her father''s question. "Yeah! It was really fun! The way papa fought with his sword was so cool! You just went vroooom!! And the black magician lost. Red uncle was also sooo cool! He just went Vraaaah!! And then he became a big fire dragon! He then did Booom! Boom! Boom! And the other dragon went Ahh! And then it lost!"

    While the smile stayed engraved on his face, Shesmu''s eyes showed complex emotions.

    "Yeah, uncle red is really cool¡­" For a second, he broke his act and sadness emanated from his voice. "Much, much cooler than papa¡­"

    Shesmu felt Eva''s grab on his arm. He looked at her in the eyes and her resolute look and pouting cheeks surprised him.

    "That''s not true at all! Uncle red is cool, but papa is also cool! Papa is the coolest in the world!"

    She then grabbed an imaginary sword and started slashing at the air. "You defeat bad guys like this, Vroom! And Booom! And the bad guys go Ahhh! And then they explode!"

    Eva''s roleplaying made Shesmu chuckle, for real this time. He brought her closer to him before carrying her in his arms. Shesmu then looked at Sophie. She didn''t say a word ever since Eva showed up. Shesmu knew that she knew that he was acting, and he was grateful. He was grateful that she stayed silent, because it would have been hard even for him to act, if she did talk.

    "Sophie, tomorrow, I''ll call in a meeting. The whole team will be there."

    Sophie''s lips formed a tender smile, "That''s exactly what I was thinking."

    "Papa," Eva yawned. "Can you continue the story of the blacksmith and the king? You said you''ll tell me but you keep forgetting!"

    Hearing his daughter''s tired voice, Shesmu knew that it was time to log out.

    "Sure thing sweetie, let''s log out and I''ll tell you the story."

    Hearing a tale that was most familiar to her ears, Sophie couldn''t help but blurt out.

    "You were telling her the questline of Kaleh? Now, isn''t that sweet."

    Shesmu acknowledged Sophie''s comment with his eyes, before focusing his attention back on Eva.

    "Let''s log out. Tomorrow will be a long day."

    * * *

    The trio simultaneously glowed in a myriad of colors before dissipating into tiny particles.

    Shesmu''s eyes opened within a capsule. He was naked, his body submerged in a light brown fluid. Being in that liquid gave him a sense of peace, alone with his darkness. He could scream if he wanted, cry and lash out at the world, and the noise cancellers would make no one the wiser. Yet , he didn''t. Despite most of his interaction with his daughter being an act, it healed him.. At least enough so that he didn''t focus on the pain, but on the future.

    In his mind, he issued the command for the capsule to open which swiftly obliged. The room was dimly lit. It was no use to waste energy on light when its only use was to host his VR capsule. He sat up, put his ready-made clothes on, and exited the room.

    He entered the hallway and from the corner of his eyes, he could see his wife walking up the stairs to the master bedroom. Usually, he would trail after her, but tonight, he needed to take a detour. Right in front of the gaming room was a pink door. Stickers of many different characters were stuck onto it. However, the biggest sticker of all had one name written in bold all over it: Eva.

    Shesmu opened it, and was greeted by a mountain of toys. From princess dolls to plushies of magical cats and bears, there wasn''t one single spot in the room where he could take a step without stepping on something.

    "Eva, how many times have I told you to put your toys back in the drawer when you finish playing with them? Honestly, all it takes is one command, how can you be so lazy?" Shesmu''s tone was a mix of reprimand and bemusement.

    Muffled noises sounded out from below the mountain of plushies. Cats and wolves flew in all directions as Eva swam up the hundreds of toys and finally regained her breath.

    "Papa, I''m sowwy¡­ I just, kinda, forgot¡­"

    Looking at Eva''s puffed face atop the mountains of toys, Shesmu couldn''t help but laugh softly. He freed her from the clutch of the little devils and carried her in his arms.

    "It''s okay, sweetie. Let''s clean up this mess, okay?"

    "Okay," Eva replied. "Melon-chan! Can you clean up this mess, please?"

    ''Hai! I''ll do it just for you~''

    A cute, squeaky voice sounded out from the depth of Shesmu''s mind. The pink room turned neon orange. The lower parts of all four walls opened like doors of a closet. The myriad of plushies, dolls, and toys gravitated towards the openings like metal to a magnet. Within ten seconds the messy room turned clean.

    "And that''s a job well done. See? Doesn''t take much effort to go from a zoo to a civilized society. Honestly, I wouldn''t have been surprised if a monkey jumped from one of those corners." While in the midst of his lecture, Shesmu felt the weight on his shoulder increase. He looked at Eva and saw her leaning on his shoulder, using it as a pillow to sleep on.

    "Hey, hey, weren''t we supposed to listen to the story of the king and the blacksmith?" His words were soft, afraid to wake up his princess from her sleep.

    "Well, maybe another time¡­" Carefully he placed her on the bed and covered her with a sky blue blanket.

    "L¡ªlove you¡­ papa." Her barely discernible mumbling warmed Shesmu''s heart, bringing a smile to his face.

    "Love you too, sweetie." He kissed Eva goodnight on the forehead before switching off the light. Leaving his daughter''s room, he climbed up the stairs and entered the master bedroom.

    Sophie was still in her underwear, in the middle slipping into her pajamas. She was beautiful, her dark brown hair reaching to her waist. She looked back at Shesmu and smiled.

    "So, did she like the tale of Kaleh?"

    "She didn''t get the chance to. I was barely at the start and she was already off to neverland."

    Sophie chuckled at the response. She was already done putting on her clothes and slid into the bed. Shesmu quickly followed suit.

    "You know, Eva had lots of fun today. She kept watching you guys, mouth open, for the whole day. It''s as if she saw real-life heroes battling in front of her."

    Shesmu smiled. Even though his heart still clenched in pain, his smile remained. Which father wouldn''t smile at the thought of his daughter? He looked at Sophie before leaning in and playing with the strands of her hair with his hand.

    "She too will become one."

    "You are her hero. Strong, untouchable and unbeatable." Her hand caressed Shesmu''s face gently and her eyes glistened with a thousand emotions. Her fingers then traced their way from his neck and into his torso, pointing at his heart. "But I know that down here, you''re hurt¡­"

    Shesmu leaned in closer, his hands reached in farther, holding onto her back. Their legs coiled around one another, searching for warmth. Their breaths intertwined, and their eyes connected.

    "Sophie, it''s hard. Allan¡ªAllan has been there for me since before I can even remember. He was always there, in the background, protecting me. He was my guardian angel. He was there when I knew nothing, when I had nothing to offer, and he guided me. He was there when we were at the top of our glory, and my confidants were conspiring to betray me. He was protecting me. Without Allan, there is no BlackMoon."

    Sophie stayed silent. She knew that Shesmu wasn''t finished.

    "Sophie, you know why I called the meeting tomorrow?" Shesmu''s voice was soft, breathy, and full of affection.

    Sophie pinched his forehead and chuckled. "Silly you, for how long do you think we''ve been married? Of course, I know¡­" Sophie''s voice was soft like the summer breeze. Shesmu could no longer hold his instincts and deeply kissed her.

    "Tomorrow, you''re going to protect him. Like he always protected you." Her finger ran up Shesmu''s chest slowly, and back to his neck. She leaned in, her breath tickling his ear.

    "Tomorrow, you''re going to gather everyone, all of our friends and do the one thing you should have done long ago. Disband the team."

    Her words hit him like a backdrop. There was no need for a response because she was right. Shesmu will disband the team and start a new journey. But the only thing he could focus on now was her. Her beautiful face, her small upturned nose, her emerald eyes, and long, silky hair. She was breathtaking, even more than when he first proposed to her, six years ago.

    Their lips met, brushing softly, delicate like flaps of the butterfly''s wings. He inhaled deeply. It was just long enough that he could inhale her own breath. Her sweet, sweet breath. He hungrily went for more. His hand gripped the back of her head firmly, afraid to let go. His tongue dug deeper searching for treasure in the deep, dark sea. But here she was, his treasure.

    Sophie chuckled. Her deep, kind voice soothing his heart. But she didn''t say anything. Words were unnecessary. They both knew exactly what the other felt. That''s precisely why Shesmu couldn''t help but fall head over heels over her all over again.

    And as such, they continued. Cuddled, hugged and kissed until they could no more. By the end, when their eyelashes were too heavy to bear, their hands reached out for each other, and their fingers intertwined one last time.

 4 Rewind

    "People of now confuse beasts and viles as the same thing. The people of old didn''t. They saw the true horror of the viles, they saw the destruction they caused with their arrival. And they understood, with every fiber of their being, that they are the archnemesis of this world. While we hunt both beasts and viles, beasts are of this world while the viles aren''t" - Monstrology By The Holy Empire of Men''s Court Scholars

    -----------------

    The sandy winds howled and weeped, and with it the cries of the innocent. Beasts of all kinds roamed the ruined city. Shesmu watched in horror as corpses formed mountains, blood formed rivers, and all the while the monsters'' hunger wasn''t satisfied.

    "Papa!"

    A voice he knew all too well. He turned around, but he couldn''t find her. Only corpses and destroyed buildings. Shesmu was shocked. This kind of horror, it''s something he has never seen before. The pale skin, the vacant eyes, the red blood. Shesmu looked away, no longer able to stare at the dead.

    "Papa!"

    He heard it again. This time fainter and farther away. He moved towards the direction of the sound, but carefully. He took refuge in the vacant buildings, safe from the ogres and chimeras that roamed the city. Slowly, he made his way, the sound of his daughter his only guide.

    Suddenly, a loud roar shook him to the core. Earth trembled and the vases that decorated the house he was in cracked. He put his hand on the wall to regain his balance until the earthquake stopped. However, something was wrong. The streets were quiet. No more howls of beasts, no more weil of men, only silence. Shesmu looked out from the broken window and what he saw, he couldn''t believe. A dragon. A live and real dragon stopped atop the ruined cathedral, breathing hellfire upon the city.

    He went back into the house, afraid that the beast would notice him. Shesmu looked for another way out of the house, and there it was. A backdoor into the alleyway. Shesmu ran with all his might, from building to building, making himself small, unnoticeable. If he didn''t, then there was no happy end for him.

    "Papa!"

    Her voice came back again. He could see her, for a second. Her shadow behind the corner of the street, just a few meters away. He ran to catch her, but once again, he was met with disappointment. There was no one at the corner of the street. However, there was a road. A way that led to outside the city, to the desert.

    Shesmu walked. He walked away from the city and its death, the monsters and the dragon. He walked into the horizon. For hours and hours, his legs never stopped once. His eyesight was blurry, his feet wobbly and his breath hoarse. He was about to fall when he regained his balance, and there she was, in front of him. Eva was there.

    "Eva,"

    Shesmu blinked. The moment his eyelids closed, he heard a soft hush of wind. By the time his eyes opened, only sand remained. Eva was no longer there.

    He woke up, his hand extended to the ceiling, and tears falling down his cheeks. At that moment, Shesmu felt incomplete, hollow.

    "Sophie¡­" Shesmu turned around, expecting to see his wife on the other side of his bed. She wasn''t. In fact, there was no other side to his bed. He stands up, looks around baffled. The whole room was different. The color of the walls was blue when it should have been white, the hologram projectors are nowhere to be seen, the door was no longer when it used to be, even the blankets on his bed changed. This wasn''t his room.

    A feeling of unease drowned him. The premonition, the nightmare, and now this. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. He looked around at the room, trying to see if he recognized it. He did, faintly. A memory of a distant past. This room, he remembered it, he lived and slept in it a long time ago.

    Shesmu exited the room and all of his worries came true. This was the house. The house his parents left him, the house he left almost ten years ago. Shesmu grimaced. It had been so long since his father passed away, but this incident made him remember. The days he spent with his long-gone father in valleys and plains so magical and mystical.

    The low, fragrant breeze tickled his nose, the slow molten sunlight, warmed him from the cold. Things that he couldn''t experience in his ice-cold city were within an arm''s reach in the virtual world. Then father gestured to him with his hand, signaling Shesmu to pay attention to what he was about to do. He raised his right arm close to his face and snapped his fingers. The world was set ablaze, fire spurted from his fingers and danced with a myriad of colors around his hand.

    Shesmu would then follow his dad to numerous adventures. Slaying monsters, finding treasures, eating food from the most dreamlike lands. It all felt so real, and it was all so fun. Shesmu was mesmerized. It was then that he fell in love with the virtual world, with all of its possibilities. But then, his father started showing up less and less. By the end, he would only see him once a month. His mother was also sad. With each passing day, she became more depressed. It was then that disaster struck.

    The news of his father''s death was on all of TV and social media. A leading researcher in neuroscience and Brain-Computer Interface was found dead in his lab. The official cause was stress. They said that he had put in long hours of work, longer than any human should. In the end, he died from a stroke.

    After that incident, his mother was no longer the same. Her fall into depression was then in full swing. She was prone to anger, easy to lash out. At the same time, she would spend hours crying and apologizing. Even her diet was in shambles. Not eating for a few days, only surviving through water. By the end, she fell into insanity. She was hospitalized and kept in a treatment facility. A glorified Asylum.

    From then on, Shesmu was alone. A ten-year-old boy with no parents or caretaker. Only Alan stood with him. Throughout all those years, he only had Alan.

    Shesmu continued walking around the house, lost in his memories. Every piece of furniture, everything was as he remembered. It''s as while the whole world was continuing to change, this place was frozen in time.

    A fleeting thought caught his curiosity. Like his own new home had Melon-chan as the AI system governing it, this house had one too: Seth.

    "Seth¡­" Shesmu''s voice was low, hesitant. He didn''t know if even after all these years, Seth was still functional.

    "Yes, Mark." Seth''s voice was warm, like a father''s, like a caring friend''s.

    Shesmu rejoiced. Even with no maintenance, Seth was still functional. He immediately asked the AI what he has been wondering all along.

    "Seth, what happened yesterday? When did I enter the house? Was there anyone with me?"

    "Mark, you entered the house yesterday at 21:34. You talked with Alan for two hours before heading to sleep. No one entered the house with you."

    Shesmu was confused in more than one level. First of all, by that time yesterday, the game was still in full swing. Second of all, how could such events happen when he has no recollection of it. Something was wrong.

    "Seth, are you sure? I came alone yesterday to this house, right?"

    "Yes Mark, I''m certain of it."

    This didn''t make any sense. How could he not remember such an important trip? And the talk with Alan, what did they talk about? The only thing that Shesmu could think of was yesterday''s incident with Shade. Did he suffer amnesia? Did someone tinker with his brain and made him forget something important? Shesmu needed answers.

    "Seth, I know this is a weird question, but what is today''s date?"

    "June 26th, 2041."

    Shesmu expected many possibilities. Maybe he had been drugged and days went by without him knowing. Maybe his memory had been failing him and he was then in a further future than he actually thought. What he didn''t expect was for Seth to give him a date that was ten years in the past.

    Shesmu chuckled. It all made sense now. Coming back late to this house, talking with Alan for hours before going to sleep. That''s something eighteen-year-old he would do. That settled it, Seth was bugged. It thinks that it''s still in 2041.

    There were no answers to be found in this house, Shesmu had to go out. He needed to understand what actually happened. Check the neighbors'' surveillance camera, talk with the police, anything that would explain to him how he ended up in his old house, hundreds of miles away from where he slept yesterday.

    Shesmu opened the main door and that''s when reality hit him like a truckload of bricks. The buildings across the street, the decorations, the asphalt, the width of the road. Everything was different. No, it was different from when he visited this place a couple of months ago, but it was familiar. He saw these buildings before. He knew them, he visited them, he lived with them. Every day as he went to and from school, he would see them. This street, this whole place, it''s the same as when he left it ten years ago. It''s as if the laws of physics got drunk and time had a bad sense of direction. Shesmu could not believe it.

    He went back to his house and closed the door. There was something he must check. He made his way to his bedroom, turned on the light, and there it was. A small brown case with stickers of his favorite characters glued on it. At this point, Shesmu knew what happened. It wasn''t a prank. It wasn''t an elaborate case of kidnapping. He knew that there was only one possibility. However, He still opened the case, hands shivering. There they were, his digital lenses, Ravs as they were called, they were there, waiting for him. He put them on and, for a second, the whole world turned digital before returning back to normal.

    ''System activated.''

    Seth''s voice resounded in his head with the activation of the Ravs. Shesmu once again asked.

    "Seth, what is today''s date?"

    ''June 26th, 2041''

    His chest heaved. Every breath was painful. Shesmu finally understood what his earlier premonition was about. He finally knew what he lost. The realization stabbed him like a thousand needles. He fell on his knees and sobbed. "Eva¡­" His voice kept shaking, only her name escaped his lips amidst the hiccups. Tears poured down and his heart ached. He never felt so sad, so broken, so powerless.

    Shesmu sat on his bed for the better part of the day. His mind spiraling with his thoughts. Every moment, every smile, every laugh, every word Eva said he remembered. But she was gone, gone amidst the ocean of time. Never to be known, never to live, never to exist, never to be remembered. Only in him.

    His mind was void, heart broken. He didn''t budge a finger, his eyes stared into nothing, only at his memories. Suddenly, a ding sounded in the depth of his mind. Seth''s voice announced "Mark, you just received a mail." He opened the mail and it read.

    "Dear Shesmu, or should I call you Mark?

    I know that you must be suffering terribly right now. The loss of your daughter is something of any man''s worst nightmare. You, even more so. For it to happen in such a cruel, unforgiving, and terrible way. I have no words. However, know that you''re not alone, know that things far greater than both you and I are in action and that the world as we know it might very well change. I hope that you find in yourself the courage to move forward and to do what you know best.

    I''ll wait for you, in Ashes of God."

 5 Meeting Allan

    "You have said before that Ashes of God was your pet project long before it was taken by Omega9, how is that?"

    The interviewer stretched his hand for his guest to speak. A middle-aged man with a round frame that already lost half of his hair.

    "Ashes of God was a project that I and some of my friends were working on since our university days. We''ve put in lots of effort, sleepless nights, missed classes¡­ By the end of the four years, we had a functioning product. It''s just that it was nothing like we first envisioned. We had a dream, but we dreamt too big. Like Icarus flying to the sun, our wings were burnt and we were about to fall from the skies. That''s when Omega9 approached us."

    The barrage of juicy information was something that the interviewer didn''t expect, but it was a welcome surprise. A smile covered his face.

    "You guys have put in such incredible effort and hard work. Four years of your life¡­ That''s not cheap. Now the question I wanna ask is what exactly did Omega9 give you that you didn''t already have or could easily procure."

    The guest chuckled.

    "Now that''s one loaded question. It''s easier for me to count the number of things they didn''t give us rather than the opposite. We were just a bunch of teens who had no idea about the scope of the beast they awakened. We needed artists, programmers, hardware guys, beta testers, and most importantly, money to put food on the table. O9 gave us all of that and more."

    The guest''s statement picked the journalist''s curiosity.

    "But there must have been something that distinguished your game from the thousand others. Something that made Omega think that you guys had it, that this game had potential."

    "Haha, I''m not sure. I guess it was our experimentalist approach that earned us their favor. Gosh, it''s been what? Ten, fifteen-year since then? By that time Deep Machine Learning and AI made all the news while MMOs were nowhere to be heard. I guess we were one of the few who decided to integrate them in such a way that has never been done before, and O9 saw potential in that."

    "Interesting. Now, let''s talk more about the game. I know that you can''t tell us much but what feature do you think would be the most interesting to the people? "

    The interviewee felt hesitant. He pointed his eyes towards the roof then scratched his head while grunting.

    "I would say¡­ Time Dilation. It''s something that only existed until now in scientific papers. There are some minigames out there that do have it, but nothing to the scale, depth and breadth of Ashes of Gods. I think, if I had to choose, this would be the most "hype" feature as the kids call it."

    The host''s mouth shaped a perfect "O". His face was the perfect description of the word surprise.

    "Woah, time dilation? I don''t know what that means but that sounds cool as all hell."

    The guest chuckled at the interviewer''s reaction.

    The interviewee burst out laughing at his own joke. The interviewer tried to continue his questioning.

    "That''s very interesting. But returning to your team and friends from college, are they still in the project?"

    The guest stayed silent for a moment. His laughing face was no more. Only after a few seconds did he break the ice.

    "Ah, my friends. Yes. Some of them stayed, some of them went on with their lives. Honestly, they were all great men and women, and all of them did well for themselves."

    The interview then continued on without much ruckus. Shesmu, who was watching it through his smart lenses exited the stream, frustrated.

    He leaned back on his chair and sighed. He then took off the smart lenses and scratched his eyes. The little devices strained his pupils. He put them in their case before sitting up. He then walked up and down the room lost in his thoughts.

    Okay, let''s recall. After I came back, what happened? Scenes from throughout the day in his head. The film then paused at the image of his daughter, amidst the desert, within that dream. Shesmu bit his lips.

    No, no, focus on what''s important, Mark!

    He shook his head to get the scene away from his mind. He thought back to the mail he received, that piece of hope. Someone out there knew what happened to him. He didn''t know or care whether they were the one who initiated the incident or if they were also just a victim. The only thing that mattered was that he wasn''t alone.

    After reading that mail, Shesmu tried to look for any indication of the sender. The mail used was a throwaway. The IP address it was sent from linked to one location: Turkey, Batman. Obviously, this was just the address of a proxy the sender used.

    Digital forensics led to a dead-end, so Shesmu explored the only avenue left for him: Ashes of Gods. The mail did say that they would meet in Ashes of Gods. As such, Shesmu read every article, watched every piece of news, interview, or anything even remotely related to the game. Unfortunately, no dice.

    Shesmu lowered his head and sighed. He spent all night looking for traces of this mysterious sender. He opened the curtain of his windows only to see the fifty shades of orange painting the sky. It was the dawn of a new day.

    "Guess I won''t have any sleep today." Shesmu yawned. "Seth, prep me coffee."

    "Understood, Mark."

    The old man''s voice of Seth somehow made Shesmu feel a sense of reassurance. These past few days took their toll on Shesmu''s mental state. Things outside of his control kept interfering with him and he got no say in anything. However, this couldn''t keep going. He needed to control his own life.

    "Mark, your coffee is ready. Do you want it at your desk?"

    Shesmu hummed in response. A squared portion of the desk caved in. A cup full of hot coffee then popped up from the hole as if it was an elevator.

    Other than the cup, the desk didn''t have anything on it. Shesmu sat down on his chair before hovering his hand over the table. A black and green holographic keyboard appeared on top of it. At the same time, a massive holographic screen popped into existence in front of Shesmu.

    Shesmu opened the official site of Ashes of Gods as he sipped on his coffee. In bold, golden, stylized letters, it displayed the opening date of the beta: July 1st, 2041 00.00 E.S.T.

    "Four days left¡­" Shesmu''s mind wandered. With all the events that happened and the emotional rollercoaster, he didn''t get the chance to truly appreciate the craziness of what happened to him. Fans spent thousands of hours before trying to compare him with legendary players of the past. Now, he could face them for real. However, before even thinking about that, Shesmu had to settle some scores first.

    "Dawn.." His fist clenched and his eyebrows furrowed. "If I were to work under you again this time, then I am truly a dog that deserves the stick."

    Remembering Dawn''s Resonance and how easily they got rid of Allan from the team, Shesmu was infuriated. He closed the Ashes of Gods'' website and opened his messaging app. At the top of his contacts was Allan Rivera. He clicked on it and sent him a message. He asked to meet him at eight in the park.

    The clock showed at half-past five. There was still quite a bit of time until the meeting. As such, Shesmu decided to go for a morning jog.

    He took off his pajamas and put on a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, sports socks, and a pair of sneakers. He went down the stairs and exited the house.

    On his morning jog, Shesmu made sure to take notice of the changing scenery. The old buildings, the alleyways that were since closed, the fast-food he would always go to after school. Shesmu felt alien. Looking at these past memories coming back to life, he felt like a ghost looking back at the past.

    In those early hours of the day, there was barely anyone on the streets. Only a few joggers and the robots cleaning the streets. Shesmu took a few detours around the residential areas.

    Even though the city was full of towering apartments and skyscrapers, joggers could still enjoy the beauty of the sun, and the freshness of grass thanks to smart building. This was one of the many gifts of the AI boom.

    Shesmu came back to his house soaked in sweat. After an hour of running, he was almost out of breath.

    "Dammit¡­" He huffed and puffed. "Forgot that my body used to be this weak."

    "Welcome back, Mark." A robot holding a set of clean clothes welcomed Shesmu.

    Shesmu jumped on the sofa, dead tired from jogging. He caught his breath before responding, "Thanks Seth¡­ Please prepare me a bath, I''m sweating bullets."

    "Understood, Mark. For breakfast, what do you want?"

    "Ehh, toast, sausages and some apple juice, please."

    "Right away then."

    The robot made its way towards the bathroom, while Shesmu was still recovering. He took a few more deep breaths before jumping back to his feet. Shesmu followed after the robot and climbed up the stairs. He opened the door to the bathroom only to find steam covering the air. Shesmu then took off his clothes and jumped straight into the bathtub.

    "Ah, nothing beats a nice warm bath!"

    Stretching his feet all the way to the edge of the tub, Shesmu felt relaxed. His aching back and thigh muscles were no longer in pain. Relieved from the tension, Shesmu sunk into his thoughts. Now that he went back into the past, there were a few things that he needed to check off his bucket list. And first on that list was taking care of his business with Dawn''s Resonance.

    "Mark, your breakfast is ready."

    Seth''s voice awoke Shesmu from his stupor. He went out of the bathtub and dried himself with the prepared towels Seth left him. He put on his clothes and went back to his bedroom.

    His breakfast was ready on top of his desk. With a flick of his finger, Shesmu booted up his holographic computer while nibbling on his grilled toasts. He then opened his mail and searched for Dawn''s Resonance. He looked at all mails containing the tag one by one, until he found the one he was looking for. Contract Renegotiation Before Free Agency.

    Shesmu clicked on the mail and read all of it slowly, making sure that he doesn''t miss a single word. After reading it twice, Shesmu smiled. His contract with Dawn will be void in two days. A meeting was scheduled today at night to renegotiate the terms. However, while the executives over at Dawn may be coming to the meeting willing to negotiate a good deal, Shesmu was not. He was already exasperated by their antics and way of doing business in his past life, he wasn''t going to repeat that same mistake.

    After finishing his breakfast, Shesmu looked at the clock. It was seven past quarters. Normally, Shesmu would wait out the remainder of the time¡ªmaybe go watch streams, play Ashes of Gods or something. However, today was anything but normal. There wasn''t anything he wished for more than to meet and talk with Allan¡ªone of his only friends in this timeline.

    As such, he opened his messaging app. Allan''s confirmation was at the top.

    "Hey, Allan, changes of plans. Can you come to the park, like right now?"

    "Sure, kinda weird, but¡­ Just let me finish my breakfast and I''ll be with you."

    "Thanks man, I''ll be waiting for you."

    Shesmu turned off the laptop, wore his Revs, and exited the house making his way towards the park. While it is possible for him to meet Allan digitally through VR, today was a special one. He needed to meet him face to face.

    After a fifteen-minute jog, Shesmu reached the park. At the entrance, he found a young man around his age standing in front of an eye scanner. The gates opened with a click.

    "Hey, Mike."

    Shesmu''s call made the young boy turn around. A much younger, skinnier version of the Mike he was used to, stood in front of Shesmu. His hair was still full and glossy, a far cry from his older self.

    "Oh, hey Mark. G''Morning, you''re early today."

    "Ah, just felt like coming here to breathe some good air," Shesmu said while stretching his hand for a handshake. "Nothing beats being one with nature after a good morning jog."

    Mike accepted the handshake while replying, "True that. Sometimes, you just gotta relax and be one with nature. You know, without bots and cameras and bullcrap everywhere trying to know what is the chemical composition of the crap you shat last night."

    Mike''s unexpected rant made Shesmu laugh hysterically, "Haha, couldn''t agree more dude. Sometimes, you just wanna be alone in this world."

    The two laughed for a bit before Mike nodded at his cabin and asked, "Want me to bring you something? At the usual spot?"

    "Nah, no need. I''m full."

    "Okay then," responded Mike while making his way to his little office. "Just tell me over Rev if you change your mind. My lemon grape cocktail juice is a killer!" He then winked at Shesmu before shutting the door.

    Shesmu shook his head at Mike''s usual antics. Even as he grew older, his sense of humor never changed. The only thing that did was his forehead. He lost the genetic lottery and started losing his beautiful orange hair early. Not that it bothered the dude as he just accepted it for what it is and went full bald.

    Shesmu then made his way to the usual spot. It was right next to the Pennantia Baylisiana, the rarest tree in the world. Looking at it, Shesmu smiled. Some things just never change. Even ten years into the future, this tree was still there breathing. Maybe in this new, yet familiar world, it was the one thing that didn''t change.

    A notification awoke Shesmu from his stupor. Allan sent him a message saying that he arrived. Few seconds later, a man with a tall frame walked towards Shesmu from the direction of the entrance. Brown hair, blue eyes and a small beard. He was wearing a blue t-shirt with a white dragon inscribed in the middle of it, and some black pants.

    "Yo," he called.

    "Hey, Allan." Looking at him, Shesmu suddenly felt a torrent of emotions well up his chest. All of the events that happened the past few days flashed in his mind like a film. It was hard not to show it.

    Allan sat down next to Shesmu and stayed silent for a few seconds.

    "So, what''s happening? Whenever you make that face something is bound to have gone wrong."

    Shesmu looked at Allan in the eyes before letting out a chuckle

    "Was it that obvious?"

    Allan slapped Shesmu on the back and laughed, "Dude! Do you think I just met you yesterday? I''ve known you since you were sucking on your mom''s titties, you can''t fool me."

    Shesmu just smiled and stayed silent in response. After a few moments, Allan got tired of the awkward silence.

    "Hey, dude. If you''re not going to talk I''m just gonna go back to sleep." He then sat up, took a few steps before Shesmu talked.

    "Allan¡­ Do you trust me?"

    He looked back and asked, "Huh? Where did that come from? Of course, I trust you."

    Shesmu then looked at Allan straight in the eyes. His eyes were full of myriad emotions. Hope, sadness, reluctance, fear, but most importantly, confidence.

    "What I''m going to say might sound like the rambling of an insane man. Something that is just impossible to believe. But it''s true, all of it." Shesmu took off his Revs, his earpieces and every electronic device present in his body. He then gestured for Allan to come closer. After he did, Shesmu leaned into his ears and whispered.

    "I¡­ I came back from the future."

    -----------

    Hey everyone, I usually don''t try to push my ******* stuff too hard, but today is a special occasion. We''re close to hitting out first milestone, 25 dollars! That''s all thanks to the generous patronage of Durza Gaming. Now, what does that mean for you? If we reach our goal of 25 bucks, there will be a double release day within a week.

 6 Begin

    "I¡­ I came back from the future."

    Hearing those words, Allan was shocked. He looked at Shesmu in the eyes, and seeing how serious they were, he knew that this wasn''t a joke. He hurriedly covered Shesmu''s mouth and gestured him to not talk. They made their way out of the park without even responding to Mike''s greeting, leaving the latter confused. The duo entered Allan''s car before he drove off.

    "What''s going on? Where are we going?"

    Allan looked at Shesmu for a second, before continuing to drive without responding.

    Suddenly, a metallic voice announced, "Allan, it is advised for your safety and the safety of your passengers to activate the auto-driving system. It is known that accidents are a million times more likely to happen with a human driver rather than the fully automatic driving system."

    "Activate manual mode, turn off all assisting and recording systems."

    "Allan, are you sure about this? This action may lead to harm to you and your passengers. You will be fully responsible for any accident that¡ª"

    "I know all of that!" Allan shouted in response. "Just turn off everything."

    "Roger that."

    With all the systems turned off, Allan kept driving without talking with Shesmu. By the end of an hour, they were outside the city and into the highway.

    After fifteen minutes of more driving, Allan took off the road and parked at the outskirt of the forest that surrounded the highway. The two then walked into the forest. By this point, Shesmu already knew what was going on in Allan''s mind. That''s why he didn''t talk.

    After more than an hour of silence, Allan finally talked.

    "Here is a history lesson for you, Mark. Since it seems that you needed one. After the massive industrialization that happened with the AI boom of the 2020s, there weren''t many places left that didn''t have cameras or recording devices sitting at every corner. Right at this moment in time, there is at least a few thousand creepy weirdos sifting through files of a recording of someone''s bathroom where his daughter is taking a piss. And you, somehow, thought that the park wouldn''t have at least a few thousand eyeballs goggling at us while you make your legendary speech."

    Allan turned around to look at Shesmu with disappointed eyes as he emphasized the last part. He turned back around and made his way through the bushes and trees. "However, some forests are an exception to this rule. After some treaty I don''t remember which, they decided that some green spaces need to stay as they are with no human intervention."

    He then turned around, and with a grandiose pose, declared, "And this forest, my friend, is one of them."

    "Dude, I really missed you."

    This groovy, larger than life character that Allan had, was something that disappeared in old Allan long ago. Maybe it was the stress of the pro play, maybe it was just a normal effect of growing up, but Shesmu missed this Allan.

    "What do you mean you missed me? Wait! Don''t tell me! Did I die in the future and you came back to save me?"

    "Haha, do you really want to know? Aren''t you afraid of looking into the Pandora box?"

    Hearing Shesmu''s teasing voice, Allan backed out a bit, afraid of what''s going to come. "No, no, you''re right. One shouldn''t look into the future. I have watched too many movies to see where that goes."

    The two looked at each other for a second before bursting out laughing. After the turmoil that happened the past few days, Allan''s company was the one saving grace for Shesmu. However, looking at him, and remembering the sore state Dawn left him in, Shesmu frowned.

    "Hey, Allan, I need to talk to you about something."

    "Oh, what''s with the face? Are you gonna tell me that I''m suffering from a chronic incurable illness and that only you have the medicine for it?" Allan joked around.

    "Something of the sort," responded Shesmu. "How long until your contract with Dawn expires?"

    "Oh, in like a week or so. They sent me the mail for the renegotiation, yours is before, right?"

    "Yeah, it''s in two days. I''m supposed to meet them today at eight pm."

    Allan in response before asking, "Did you contact your lawyer then? You can''t get scammed like last time. Like holy damn, even while being one of the best assaulters in the league you still get paid like a 3rd tier player."

    "I''m not gonna renew the contract with them," Shesmu responded simply.

    "Oh, did you get a massive offer from someone else? Who was it? DragonForce? TSA?"

    "No, I''m not gonna quit Demon Heart actually."

    Allan stayed silent for a moment before chucking, "Is this some kind of joke? Why would you do that? You''re eighteen, you still have like ten years before retirement. You still haven''t even gotten your first million-dollar cheque yet!"

    "Oh, believe me, I''ll get that and more. It''s just that if I stay under anyone, it''s my sanity that I''m gonna lose." Shesmu then stayed silent for a few seconds before continuing. "You¡­ you too should get out of Dawn. They are just bad news overall."

    "... I''m guessing this whole talk is because of something that happened in the future. They pulled out some weird crap on us, didn''t they?"

    Shesmu nodded with his head in response.

    "The bastards," Allan seethed. "So, what''s the plan? What do we do after we get out of Dawn."

    "There is this new game that I want you to play. Ashes of Gods."

    "Oh, it''s an O9 game, right? But what about it? I looked at it, it has nice concepts. But that''s what O9 always was: Nice concepts, trash execution."

    "This one is different," Shesmu replied. "Dude, I come from the future, this game is gonna be the bomb. By year two, it was the most popular game on the planet. The government itself got involved with it. They started making government-sponsored jobs inside the game, dude! Has that happened in any game before?"

    "Okay, okay, you got me interested in that. When is it coming out?"

    "The beta is in four days," Shesmu responded. However, before he could continue a cold gust of wind made him shiver with his whole body. "Dude, it''s getting cold. Let''s go back to the car and then we continue talking."

    Allan was hesitant a bit, "Yeah, but what about the microphone recorders and stuff. You don''t want people to know that you''re coming from the future, now do you?"

    "Yeah, I''m not stupid enough to talk about it in there, we''re just gonna talk about the game and that''s it. It''s not gonna raise any flags."

    Allan gave Shesmu an unimpressed look at his response. "Oh, really? Then what about before in the park?"

    Shesmu got embarrassed at the mention of the earlier incident. "That''s something else."

    Allan rolled his eyes. "If you say so."

    The two then made their way to the car and then into the city. They talked all the way about Ashes of Gods and what prospects it showed. However, Allan had to, unfortunately, miss the open beta as his contract with Dawn wouldn''t be over by then. He did promise Shesmu to join him once the live servers come out though.

    After being dropped off by Allan at his own house, Shesmu went to his bedroom and ordered a Dreamscape Capsule from the Omega9 website. The shipment would take six hours.

    The next few days went by without much to talk about. He would meet Allan every day at seven, go to the forest outside the city, and tell stories about what happened in the future. The adventures they embarked on, the treasures they found, the bosses they fought. They would keep talking until Allan would have to go to his usual training sessions with Dawn''s Resonance.

    In the meantime, Shesmu would research every corner of the internet. Even if the hope was miniscule, he needed to check if the unknown sender would leave a hint to his identity somewhere. Unfortunately, Shesmu''s efforts were all in vain.

    The day came, July 1st, 2041. Shesmu calibrated his body to the capsule before turning it on. He then entered the capsule and closed the lid. The light dimmed and he could barely see the honey-colored hue of the glass lid.

    Begin

    Finishing his mental command, the darkness surrounding slowly started shifting into a blinding light. At the same time, a female robotic voice sounded in his head.

    Boot¡­ System ¦¸9 3.2 Active ¨C Ashes of God

 7 DÃ©jÃ  Vu

    As the voice finished, the blinding light finally dimmed out. And from the pure white, a lively mixture of green and blue was born. A warm zephyr tickled his legs before transforming into a violent gale that catapulted him upwards. The wind pressure didn''t cut his skin, nor did it pressure his lungs. In fact, the whole experience felt surreal.

    "Ah," Letting out the breath that he held for the longest time, Shesmu gasped.

    Slowly opening his eyes, Shesmu found himself high in the sky. Even though he experienced this scene thousands of times already, he still felt his adrenaline pumping as he looked at the green grass on the ever dwarfing plateau.

    "Kraaaw!"

    On his left, Shesmu heard an eagle''s cry. Turning around, he wasn''t surprised when he saw the monstrously big wing, covered in brown feathers blocking his view. The creature then accelerated with incredible momentum, revealing itself to the world. It was a griffin, four meters wide one that stood aloof in the sky. Knowing what to expect next, Shesmu looked all around him. Surrounding him was a drift of griffin, thirty of them to be exact. It was a sight to behold. Flying with such mythically strong creatures would excite even the most nihilistic of souls.

    Suddenly, Shesmu''s lips cracked into a grin.

    "Thump!"

    From below the plateau, a titanic red, reptilian paw slammed on the ground. Its razor sharp claws emitted an air of hostility and hidden danger. A yellow eye opened, and from underground, a titanic creature emerged.

    "ROAAAAAAAAAR!!"

    A brick red dragon, thirty meters long, soared into the sky. Looking at the drift of griffins, it roared, anger clear in its voice. It opened its mouth, and with contempt in its eyes, it gathered fire mana from all over the mountain range. The magical particles gathered into a ball of fire that Shesmu could feel the heat of even a hundred meters away.

    After the first wave of hot wind, Shesmu was greeted by a warm breeze. The gentle zephyr as with last time became more violent and grew into a strong gale. The gust of wind blew him to the side, away from the danger of the dragon.

    As Shesmu was balancing himself in the air, a bright light came from the direction of the monsters. Looking up, he saw the dragon''s fire breath clashing with the wind blades of the griffins. The standoff lasted for a few seconds before the griffins'' attack faded away, leaving them defenseless against the inferno that was about to befall them.

    "Kraaaw!"

    The last cry of the griffins was full of sorrow. It was as if they tried to imprint their memories, their souls into this world that they were about to bid farewell to. Fire engulfed them, a giant ball of flame that spanned 40 meters in diameter. The griffins were evaporated, even their bones were melted by the raging fire.

    The scene paused and he was teleported into deep space, where a beautiful six-winged angel descended gracefully and said.

    "Hello Adventurer, welcome to Ashes of Gods. My name is Gabriel, the messenger angel."

    With a swipe of her left hand, an avatar that looked the same as Shesmu, albeit naked, appeared in front of him. "In this brand new world, you can craft your own brand new body. But remember, you can adjust your appearance only up to a limit of 20%."

    While Shesmu did know almost everything that there was to know about Ashes of Gods, he knew that he shouldn''t flaunt that knowledge in front of everyone he met. Especially with an entity like Gabriel present.

    "Oh, interesting. So, does that mean I can only change 20% of the things in my body?"

    Gabriel scratched her chin, thinking. "Not exactly. Here, let me give you an indicator of your body''s adjustments."

    With a swipe of her hand, a green rectangular bar appeared above the naked avatar''s head.

    "This bar will change color the more you adjust your appearance. Once it reaches the red, that means that you exceeded the 20% limit."

    "Oh, that''s handy." Shesmu then paused for a second. "Hey, Gabriel. Can I ask you something?"

    At his question, Gabriel answered smiling, "There are few things that I cannot answer, but yeah, you can ask me anything."

    Shesmu replied immediately, "In this game, are there kingdoms and empires already in place?" To start, Shesmu wanted to probe the depths of her tolerance. If he started with the true questions he had in mind, he would definitely get in trouble for it.

    "Yes, yes there are. I can give you the names and a basic description of these kingdoms since you have access to it when you will choose your birthplace. However, for information further than that, you need to go down there and check out the libraries."

    At the mention of the libraries, Shesmu''s eyes widened for a second. So, she can give information that we, players do not have access to until we enter the game.

    "Do I need to create an avatar before choosing my place of birth?" Shesmu already knew the answer to his question. However, he needed to keep up this facade of ignorance if he didn''t want to arouse suspicion.

    "No, not really. If you want, we can skip the character creation process for now, and later on come back to it." Gabriel suggested with her ever smiling face. At some point or another, she started bouncing up and down with her six, purple feathered wings.

    While Shesmu was surprised with her demeanor, he didn''t show it in his face. "Then, let''s do that."

    Hearing his confirmation, Gabriel finally stopped bouncing. Again, with a swipe of her left hand, Shesmu''s avatar turned into particles of light, scattered by a non-existing wind. Then a globe formed, showing the map of Ashes of Gods.

    "You can check the description of each country by focusing on it." Gabriel stated before leaving the floor to Shesmu.

    Looking at the globe, Shesmu already knew which country he was going to choose. But just for the sake of keeping his facade, he decided to check a few other empires first.

    The map was split into a variety of continents, some small, some big. The most prominent ones were named Eudrea, Solon, Auruboth, and Qiunis. There were a variety of large empires spanning the land. Oqibalon, Furix, Nawa Saknave, and Agios were all empires that spanned land bigger than some of the smaller continents. Each empire had their own set of beliefs and, for some of them, their own race.

    However, Shesmu wasn''t interested in any of those at the moment. His eyes were set on a certain kingdom on the north-east of the Eudrea continent: Pliyx Stal Kingdom.

    Focusing on Pliyx Stal, a description of the Kingdom filled the interface.

    "Pliyx Stal kingdom is ruled by the Stal family, thus the name. The Pliyx came from legends of a relic long lost. The properties of the relic differ depending on who you ask, and what their region is¡­"

    Seeing that the description will take a thousand year to finish, Shesmu just skimmed through it fast. He already knew whatever was written on the description due to past life experiences.

    "Oh!"

    Finally finding what he was looking for Shesmu read.

    "Nobles in Pliyx Stal kingdom are decided at birth. Those who are born with golden hair only, are low nobles. Those who are born with golden hair and golden eyes are high nobles. Traces of someone being born with only golden eyes have not been found, but the current consensus is that they would be considered high noble, if only due to their rarity..."

    As Shesmu read those words out loud, he looked at Gabriel.

    "I choose Pliyx Stal as my kingdom of birth." He affirmed.

    At his declaration, Gabriel smiled and said.

    "Understood, and for your town?"

    Shesmu faked his hesitation for a second, before looking back at the map to make it seem as if he was checking it again.

    "Hmm, Make it the Stal Capital City."

    At his antics, Gabriel chuckled for a second before answering.

    "Understood, but please understand that for the first 20 levels, you''ll stay in a beginner town affiliated to the City of your choosing. This applies to all players and all cities."

    With a swipe of her hand, the world map disappeared to leave place for the naked avatar to reemerge.

    While the angel was focusing on the avatar, Shesmu glimpsed at her from the corner of his eyes. Gabriel''s face almost didn''t betray her inner thoughts, only the amused smile showed her true reaction to the events happening before her.

    I guess that''s a pass... Now, for the second phase of the plan. Hopefully, it goes well.

    Crossing his fingers behind his back, Shesmu turned to face Gabriel.

 8 Cat And Mouse

    Looking at Gabriel, Mark steeled his heart before saying, "Can I look at the full body structure of my avatar? Everything that is inside it."

    Gabriel''s face froze. She didn''t respond for a few seconds, completely ignoring Shesmu. Although she didn''t say anything, Shesmu knew what was going on in the angel''s mind.

    Right at that very moment, she was sending thousands of requests to a higher tier system¡ªone with more clearance. That was because that simple question Shesmu asked was something that none of the AIs governing Ashes of Gods expected to be asked, especially so early in the release.

    Gabriel''s frozen face finally cracked into a smile.

    "Interesting, really interesting. I''m not sure if this is a coincidence, or if you have some kind of information. Either way, yes, you can see the full body, with everything that is inside it."

    Gabriel''s words made Shesmu''s heart sink. Goosebumps spread all over his body. Even with such a very simple request, she was able to deduce that he was hiding something. This kind of sharp mind worried Shesmu to no end. Even the slightest, most unnoticeable mistake slipped past him, she would find out.

    Gabriel swiped at Shesmu''s naked avatar and strange things happened. A shadowy figure that had the same frame as Shesmu stood next to his avatar. White flames dotted his body, making a vertical line from his head to the nether region, and a horizontal one across his shoulders. The flames formed a cross inscribed on the shadowy body.

    However, that wasn''t the end of the changes. Shesmu''s naked avatar also had multiple colored balls appear all over his body. From his head, to his heart, to his lungs, to his stomach.

    "I''m sure that you''re dying to know what all of these things are, what secrets do they hold. Unfortunately, I''m only allowed to give you the most basic information about them. That''s of course, unless you ask nicely again, like you did last time."

    Gabriel winked at Shesmu with a smile. The latter couldn''t help but shiver in response. Shesmu''s mouth hang slightly open, and his lips were dry. He didn''t say anything. He knew that no matter what he said in response, it wouldn''t help his situation in the slightest.

    As if she enjoyed the mental torture she put Shesmu through, Gabriel started bouncing up and down with her wings.

    "So, what are these things? These are the physical representations of the most basic power systems of this world: Ki, Mana, Nodes, and finally shadows," She said while pointing at the shadowy figure.

    "Not that great in terms of originality, now is it?" Gabriel smirked while looking at Shesmu. "Any questions for now?"

    Shesmu shook his head left and right, "No, not for now."

    She then turned her attention towards the avatar. "The same is true for the other power users. The more cores they unlock, the stronger they become. As for which cores are for which system? They are classified here by color. The blue ones are for mana, green for ki, golden for nodes."

    Shesmu took a closer look at his avatar. The blue orbs, or cores as she named them, were all in the head area. The golden ones were at the heart, while the green ones were spread out between the lungs and the belly.

    "So, any question about what you just learned?" asked Gabriel. "Do you wanna change them?" She winked while smiling peacefully.

    However, peace wasn''t the best adjective to describe what was happening Shesmu''s mind. She was playing with him. She knew that he was hiding something, and she was using that knowledge to bait him and taunt him.

    Interesting, Shesmu fought hard the urge to grin. The fact that an AI was challenging him to a battle of mind, anyone would be terrified of such a prospect. However, Shesmu lived for this kind of thrill.

    "C-can I change them? How?" Shesmu asked innocently, feigning ignorance.

    Gabrield chuckled in response. "Ahh, that''s a loaded question. Unfortunately, I can''t show you."

    Shesmu understood that this was his cue to change the subject. "Ah, that''s a shame then. All of them seemed so interesting, I can''t wait to play and see how they all work."

    "I can''t wait to see which route you choose," replied Gabriel while floating up and down with her purple wings.

    Shesmu smiled in return before changing subjects. "Ahh, while this is interesting. We probably should continue with the character creation. That way I can experience the game first hand."

    "Definitely." Gabriel swiped with her hand and the shadow disappeared. The avatar also turned back into its normal form. She turned around and asked Shesmu smiling, "So, what part of your body do you want to change? Maybe your eye colors? Turn them golden, those would fit you so well."

    Shesmu gulped in response. Scary¡­ Gabriel had observed his every move since the start. As such, she could predict Shesmu''s every step to a frightening accuracy.

    "Ah¡­ I think you''re right. Golden eyes are definitely something I should have," Shesmu responded in defeat. Even though his pride hurt him, he knew that now wasn''t the time to care for such petty things.

    Gabriel kept bouncing up and down happily as she changed the avatar''s eye colors to gold. "Anything else?"

    Shesmu took a look at his character before finally deciding. "Hmm, make the hair longer a bit, shoulder length. And, change the color to a dark shade of purple."

    Shesmu did play with the idea of just keeping his hair black as normal. However, since he already made that choice in his past life, he thought that changing up things this time would be more interesting. Plus, the dark purple hair choice was also in honor of one of his future friends: Fate.

    Shesmu faced Gabriel and said, "I''m done with changing the looks. We can continue."

    "Okay then." With a swipe of her hand, his avatar was separated into 4 clones, each wearing a different outfit.

    "This is the warrior, or, since you already know about the systems, it is the Ki user in its Swordsman iteration, " Gabriel said as she was pointing to the clone holding a sword and emanating a green aura flowing wildly.

    "This is the Mana user, in its water Elementalist iteration," The mage clone was holding a staff and wearing a robe that was fluttering to a non-existing wind. The clone had a blue and calming aura, his eyes were deep as the ocean, showing his unending wisdom.

    "This is the shadow user, in its Shadow iteration, " The assassin was wearing a cloak that was merging with the shadows, half of his face was masked and a black aura complementing his attire was emanating from him. He was holding a razor-sharp dagger, with a black and red handle. Its blade was darker than black, and the overall aura screamed the word danger from miles away.

    "And finally, this is the node user, this particular one is from Agios, believing in the aspect of Life Aida," The priest was holding a book on his hands, presumably a holy one. He was wearing a white full-length cape with golden ornaments on his shoulders, sleeves and on his chest. He was emanating a holy aura that was complemented by his golden hair and eyes. His whole figure was screaming "I am holier than thou".

    Shesmu didn''t take long to choose which class to take. All of his doubts and worries, he already came to term with before even entering the Dreamscape. He will take the path of his past life, but this time, he will push it further.

    "I choose the Ki user."

    "Hm, really? I thought the Shadow was cool and suited your edgy, cool teenager vibe better." Gabriel said with a tone full of surprise. However, her smile easily betrayed her amusement and mischievousness.

    Shesmu couldn''t be bothered with her antics so he just ignored them.

    "Tch," Seeing that she won''t be able to get a reaction out of him, Gabriel just clicked her tongue and continued on with the process.

    "One other thing, since you chose the Ki user as your main class, do you wanna stay with the default look or do you want to change the color scheme?"

    Shesmu looked at his avatar before making some adjustments, "Make the vest greenish blue and the pants black. Also, make the plates be a bit more dark grey."

    Gabriel changed the look of Shesmu''s avatar as told before replying, "Is it now to your liking?"

    Shesmu subtly nodded in response.

    "Anyways, we''re basically done. You just need to choose your name, and you can start the tutorial. So, what will it be?"

    At her question, Shesmu didn''t hesitate.

    "Shesmu." It was a name that stuck with him even before he started playing Ashes of Gods in his past life. It''s the first ID that he used in his first Vr game, ever since he started playing with his dad.

    "Name accepted. Well then, I think this is goodbye, for now, Mark¡ªNo, Shesmu. But before that, I want to announce to you something. As the first person to discover the power system, you receive the title of pioneer. It doesn''t give you any stats that would increase your power, but it does increase your reputation with the allied races."

    She hummed for a second, hands scratching her chin before continuing with a happy smile, "Well, since it''s such a special occasion, this title will be linked to your account. That means any alt character you make will also have this title. Of course, it will carry to the live server as well."

    Before Shesmu could respond, Gabriel swiped with her one last time. She and the black space around them turned into countless light particles. However, even though her body disappeared, her voice still lingered on.

    "Good luck in Ashes of Gods, Mark."

 9 First-In

    "Good luck in Ashes of Gods, Mark."

    With these parting words, Gabriel''s right hand glittered in a myriad of colors as she swiped in the air creating a colorful tear in space. As if she pulled a curtain, Shesmu''s vision turned a golden white for a second, before he saw himself materializing in another place, kneeling on the ground.

    The floor was made out of wood. Shesmu could feel its dry and grained texture. For some reason, even though he already experienced the realism of Ashes of Gods countless times in his past life, he still felt surprised at the sensation. It was as if this was the first time Shesmu entered this world.

    Congratulations! New Title Acquired!

    Pioneer

    Being an adventurer comes with great opportunities, one of them is being able to discover new species, runes, skills or magic. For those who reached far and wide, and were the first to do something of significance in this world, this title is given.

    Increase in reputation with the allied races.

    Being greeted by this notification was something of a first for Shesmu. Thinking about it, this might be the first time ever someone starts the game with a special title already given.

    Shesmu closed the notification, and while looking up his eyes crossed with those of a person with high stature. The unknown man''s posture was disciplined, like that of a soldier or a dojo master. He wore a pair of metal shoulder plates, chainmail covered by a green vest that were coupled with dark green pants. His muscles were bursting out of his vest, scars of battle decorated his face and arms, telling tales of all the wars he survived.

    All of a sudden, Shesmu who was staring at him felt a great sense of danger. The man in front of him looked much larger. Shesmu''s eyes only could focus on him and only him, not noticing anything of the surrounding. The man felt like a feral beast, a green aura full of ferocity was emanating from him.

    Shesmu shook his head to snap out of the illusion he was trapped in.

    Bloodthirst passive, huh? Isn''t that a high-level skill, I guess this guy is not half bad. At the very least he is a Tier II. But to think I would actually succumb to the effect of this skill for so long. I know that this is just a level one''s body but... My senses are really no longer as sharp as they used to be. This is weird¡­

    As Shesmu was sitting up, he looked at the man in front of him before stopping dead on his tracks. The man''s eyes were cold. So cold, it sent a shiver down Shesmu''s spine. This time, it wasn''t unintentional bloodlust leaking from him, he really wanted to kill him then and there.

    However, as if everything was but an illusion, the warrior''s cold eyes turned soft, a smile filling his face.

    "Hey, young''un, get up. The look in your face is as if you just saw a demon. Hahaha!"

    Once Shesmu sat up, the man started talking.

    "My name is Leonard, your instructor. Here, I''ll be teaching you the basics of how to become a brave one!"

    As Leonard was talking, Shesmu''s eyes drifted to his surroundings. As expected, he saw the ghosts.

    Noticing where Shesmu''s attention went, the instruction tried to clear his confusion.

    "Oh, these are the ghosts. They are a representation of your comrades from the golden generation in this plane. Each of you is in a different plane with a different instructor so that none bothers anyone in their training."

    Shesmu knew all of this, but he still found it funny how the inhabitants of this world call players the golden generation.

    Each of the ghosts was doing something different. Some were listening to their instructors, others already started training, and some just kept fooling around trying to get a reaction from the other ghosts.

    "First of all, we need to know which weapon do you see fit for your style. It may determine your future advancement in the mighty path of the warrior. But fret not, even if none of the weapons here are to your suiting, you can always choose one later. There will always be a master out there that can teach you the way, you just need to find them!"

    Shesmu wasn''t really interested in the instructor''s short monologue, so he just replied curtly.

    "An arming sword."

    "Oh, we seem to be kindred spirits! Remember young''un, the sword chooses its master, so be worthy lest you get rejected by your own sword! Hahaha!"

    Leonard laughed as he patted Shesmu''s back. Each one of his taps felt more like a boulder slamming on Shesmu''s back, rather than human hands.

    "Hack, hack!" Leonard''s friendly pats hit Shesmu so hard that he felt his bones shaking.

    Goddammit, what have I done to suffer like this! Was he that violent last time?

    "Haha, you sure do have a backbone. Most would have fallen to their knees from my greeting pat. Hahaha!"

    For some reason, a strong urge to go up and pummel Leonard until he drops dead, burnt inside Shesmu. The only thing that was stopping him from doing so was the rational side of him that said: "You''re gonna get rekt before you even take the first step, so calm down."

    "Anyway, enough with the rambling, I''m sure that the fire inside your heart is waiting to be unleashed! Come, here is your sword."

    Leonard materialized a long sword in his hand. It didn''t look anything spectacular. In fact, Shesmu could tell from a distance that the sword''s blade was too dull. The amount of damage one could do with this thing was negligible.

    Shesmu moved forward to take the sword from Leonard''s hands. Even though the sword was of trash quality, he was excited. It had been quite a long time since he touched a sword, and even if it was a blunt one, Shesmu didn''t mind. He was looking forward to playing around with it. Without a sword in his hands, Shesmu felt that something was lacking. Now, he would finally be able to fill that gap in his heart.

    However, when Shesmu took hold of the long sword, it wasn''t joy that welcomed him, but an all-engulfing terror. His hands started shaking, and his eyes were unbelieving. His legs failed him and he fell down to his knees. He could feel it, and he understood it with every fiber of his being. The sword felt alien, almost as if it was the first time he ever touched one.

 10 Setback

    The sword felt heavy, it felt heavy and slippery. He didn''t need to use it to know that when he slashes with it, it would be the sloppiest slash he did in a long, long time.

    Shesmu instinctively knew what was happening. He knew what was happening to his body, to his mind¡ªhe knew it. However, he couldn''t accept it.

    "Heyo."

    "Young''un!"

    "Are you okay?!"

    However, the old man''s words fell into deaf ears. Shesmu''s eyes didn''t even respond to only shouting, only glued to his sword.

    "Did the sword scare you? Don''t worry, it will be even scarier to your opponents!" He then paused for a bit before continuing. "But if holding this sword is that overwhelming to you, maybe you should rethink your decision to be a warrior. You can always go through the purification ritual at the church and you can choose another profession. We can go there together if you want to."

    "No," Shesmu plainly said.

    At his remark, Leonard raised an eyebrow.

    Shesmu stood up, his intense gaze never leaving his sword. With scrunched eyebrows, he raised it and slashed at the air.

    After performing his move, Shesmu closed his eyes and bit his lips. It was now confirmed. He had lost his ability to hold the sword.

    His skills, his techniques, everything he had spent tens of thousands of hours practicing, day and night. It was all gone.

    Shesmu stayed silent for a couple of seconds before taking a deep breath. He then screamed with all his might.

    The scream¡ªno, the war cry, was so feral in nature, so powerful, it made the instructor back away. However, while the scream was powerful, it held no sadness, no self-pity in it. It was a scream that challenged the world.

    Shesmu''s scream left Leonard awed. His eyes widened and he started laughing uncontrollably.

    "What a scream! Haha! I like that! That scream had such vigor in it, such energy! You''re going to become a fine Swordsman, I can already tell!"

    After a loud laugh and his iconic greeting pat to the back, Leonard finally became serious.

    "Well, we already had our fun, now it''s time for me to show you the basics of a warrior. What I will show are the basic skills that every holder of the warrior class should master, so look attentively."

    Leonard summoned a training dummy in front of him, before materializing a sword in his hand too. The sword was the same as the one he gave Shesmu, prompting the latter to think that this was the only type of sword these instructors could summon.

    "First of all, I''ll show you how a normal slash looks like."

    "This is a normal slash, now let me show you an empowered one."

    However, Shesmu just half-heard those words. His focus was still on the training dummy that has just been slashed. He could barely see Leonard move, let alone his slash. Since his reflexes and muscle memory were gone, he expected his kinetic vision to also deteriorate.

    But Shesmu wasn''t worried anymore. When he first started playing Ashes of Gods, he couldn''t even see the instructor move, let alone his slash. That means that at least some things carried over the time jump. Maybe his predictive abilities, or maybe just some of his knowledge that is ingrained in his subconsciousness made him look at where he needs to look without him actually reacting to anything.

    Whatever the case may be, Shesmu knew that his starting point is still higher than in his past life, much much higher if you consider his knowledge about quests, mechanics, and classes. There was no reason for him to fret, he already reached such heights in his past life without anyone''s help, what now when he has such a massive lead over everyone else?

    Leonard took a fighting stance, preparing his empowered slash. However, before making any moves, he continued his explanation.

    "Now, it gets a bit complicated. You need to free your mind, let out all distracting thoughts and think only one thing: "Empowered Slash". It needs to be imprinted in your brain, your soul even. Only then will the skill activate and your inner power heed your call. Here, watch and learn."

    Leonard''s sword glowed red. The previously dull looking sword emanated an air of danger and sharpness. Leonard slashed swiftly, leaving a crimson afterimage as the trail of his sword. This time, the number that appeared on top of the dummy was glowing red, and looked much bigger and more imposing than when Leonard did a normal slash with his sword. But maybe, most surprising of all, was that the damage reached 30000, more than three times that of Leonard''s normal attack.

    As Leonard finished his speech, a red notification reached Shesmu. At the far upper-left of his vision was his Hp and Energy bar and next to them was a small plus sign. This sign had a red exclamation mark next to it blinking. Focusing on the plus sign, multiple tabs appeared in front of Shesmu. Selecting the Skill tab, a table appeared in front of him.

    New Skill Acquired

    Empowered Slash

    Empowered Slash

    Tier: 0

    Level: 1

    Cost: 30 Energy

    Base Damage: 50 + 125% Attack Damage.

    Looking at the basic description of the skill, Shesmu just casually closed all of the tabs. It''s not as if he didn''t already know every information that was present there.

    Bringing Shesmu out of his reverie, Leonard continued explaining.

    "Here, now that I have shown you how the mighty Empowered Slash looks like, try your hand at it and see how things go."

    Leonard then took a step back to leave room for Shesmu to hack and slash at the training dummy to his heart''s content. Shesmu then took a step forward, holding his sword with two hands.

    Let''s start with a simple empowered slash.

    Thinking those words in his head, Shesmu then thought.

    Empowered slash!

    Shesmu felt parts of his body heat up, especially his arms and abdomen. Weird green energy invisible to the naked eye went through his stomach and then reached his hands before seeping into his sword. Shesmu''s sword glowed bright green before his hands automatically slashed the training dummy.

    87

    Looking at his damage, Shesmu wasn''t disappointed or anything. This was the damage of a standard Empowered Slash. Sure there were ways to make it do even more damage, but this isn''t what Shesmu was worried about at the moment. What concerned him was something more fundamental, a technique that he considered his bread and butter with how flexible it was.

    If this does not work, then I really don''t know what to say.

    Shesmu readied his stance, his sword at the level of his forehead, then he slashed. It was a normal, diagonal two-handed slash, and if someone had seen it, he wouldn''t think twice about it. But just as the sword was about to get into contact with the training dummy. Shesmu thought.

    Empowered... Slash!

    Immediately, that weird green energy surged from his stomach to his arms, then to his sword. Glinting with that familiar green light, Shesmu''s sword slashed the neck of the training dummy. Above the dummy, a big red 175 appeared.

    If anyone was in Shesmu''s shoes, they would be overjoyed at the sight of such an incredibly high damage. It was double the normal empowered slash! However, Shesmu''s face was gloomy. He closed his eyes and bit his lips. Even this one move, he thought.

    Shesmu took a few breaths to calm his heart before opening his eyes again. This time, they shone brighter than ever. He held his sword firmly and slashed again.

 11 Third Times The Charm

    When the gates of heaven opened, Humanity stepped into a desolate world. Ravaged by the thousand-year of war, the triads were saved by the holy humans. The founders with their holy might united the world under the banner of the empire. Thus, the world saw prosperity it hasn''t seen since time long gone. ¡ª The Coming Of Humanity, by the scholars of The Holy Empire of Men

    --------------

    Shesmu stood in front of the training dummy while holding his sword with one hand. His eyes were closed and breath steady. He stood still, not moving in the slightest. However, while he showed no sign of aggression externally, Shesmu was waging a more decisive war, and its battlefield was in his mind.

    Taking a deep breath, Shesmu replayed the sequence of attacks he just did in his mind. As if his mind was a Slow-motion camera, he saw himself making that attack slowly. He noticed every detail, every breath he took, the speed by which his sword was moving, its angle and more.

    The sword kept slashing and Shesmu kept observing. Slash after slash, he would observe the most minute details. Every time, he would become much better and more proficient.

    Shesmu imagined himself raising the sword again. In his mind, he slashed and with his slash time slowed. His eyes measured the distance between the sword and the dummy, its speed, its angle. From that information, he calculated the exact moment in which he should activate his skill.

    Counting under his breath, Shesmu reached 2 before the green energy started gathering on his abdomen.

    ''Stop¡ª''

    Stopping his imagination dead in its track, Shesmu felt his hands become slippery. Sweat dripped down from his forehead and the palms of his hands. He shortly gasped for air before looking at the training dummy.

    Okay, let''s do it for real this time''

    Shesmu took hold of his sword with both hands, gripping its handle tightly. He raised his sword and swung diagonally towards the dummy. As it closed in, Shesmu once again activated Empowered Slash.

    "Shhh!"

    Same as in his imagination, a big red 175 appeared above the dummy''s head. He failed again. Looking at it, Shesmu saw a gash on the training dummy''s neck before it got instantly healed. That was considered a weak spot, as the dummy was representing a humanoid creature, thus the higher than standard damage.

    Shesmu didn''t mind the failure, it was part of the process. In fact, he elated. His last swing felt good, it was close.

    Third time''s the charm, let''s do this.

    For a third time Shesmu took hold of his sword, and with both hands raised it at the level of his forehead. He swung it diagonally, and as the sword closed on the dummy, he activated his skill.

    "Swoosh!"

    Looking at those magical numbers, Shesmu, whose expression was grim since he reached this world, finally softened. A rare smile appeared on his face.

    Finally, something good.

    However, he didn''t let his excitement get the better of him. He recalled back all the movements that he did, the breaths he took, everything and burnt it into his memory.

    "Clap, clap, clap."

    Snapping out of his reverie, Shesmu turned around to the sound of Leonard clapping.

    "That was a marvelous technique. May I know its name?" Leonard said respectfully, his usual joking tone nowhere to be seen.

    To this question, Shesmu pondered for a second. The move did have a name, but it was more popular among players and he never heard an NPC say it before. In the end, he just pushed those thoughts to the side and answered.

    "This move is inspired by a type of technique called animation cancels. This one specifically shall be named Empowered Slash Cancel."

    "Interesting name, Empowered Slash Cancel, I''ll keep it in mind." Leonard looked like a student taking notes from his professor as he said those words.

    "It''s the first time that I have ever seen anything like that. Were you a swordsman before coming here?"

    Leonard''s question made Shesmu feel complicated emotions. "Something of the sort, yes."

    "Marvelous. A holder of golden eyes but also master of the sword. What an unusual combination."

    Leonard''s unusual statement left Shesmu speechless. I didn''t know that nobles couldn''t hold the sword.

    Leonard coughed before continuing, "Anyway, there are still a few things you need to learn before going on your way. Two skills. Empowered Thrust and warrior''s Dash. Weak in the hands of the unskilled, but unbelievably lethal when used by a master. And you, my friend, are one. I can''t wait to see the rampage you''ll unleash once you learn these skills. Hahaha!"

    As Leonard continued laughing like a madman, Shesmu just smiled in response. Somehow, the jovial, feral nature of this man made Shesmu like him.

    "Haha, so let me show you. This is how you do an Empowered thrust¡­"

    While Leonard continued explaining, Shesmu''s brain just shut off. While his ears did hear the words, his brain could no longer process them. Shesmu was tired. His breath was heavy, and cold sweat dripped from his forehead. He closed his eyes and focused completely on recovering his strength.

    By the end of Leonard''s demonstration, which Shesmu completely ignored, he gained two skills.

    Dash

    Tier: 0

    Level: 1

    Cost: 20

    Rapidly moves you anywhere within a 5 meters radius.

    Empowered Thrust

    Tier: 0

    Level: 1

    Cost: 30 Energy

    Base Damage: 50 + 125% Attack Damage.

    The description of Dash barely gave any information, but Shesmu knew that the skill had many limiting factors. For example, the skill didn''t work well at the edge of its radius when the terrain is not even. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn''t. Someone probably already knew the specific details regarding this in his past life, but Shesmu couldn''t bother at the time looking it up, and for sure won''t bother racking his brain for an answer now. As for Empowered Thrust, it was basically Empowered Slash, but with a thrust. Not really that exciting.

    "You are now a warrior. A beast in man''s skin, a demon on the battlefield. Remember! Your sword is now your limb, and no one ever forgets his limbs! It should always be in your hand, even in your sleep. The woods are cunning, the veil of the night is where the demons sleep! Now, go! Finish your training and become a true warrior of this Great Pliyx Stal Kingdom. A noble''s duty is to be the spearhead in face of danger, a protector of the citizens! Never forget that!"

    Leonard''s aura shifted once he started his speech. No longer was he the amiable middle-aged man, he returned to his steel cold, eyes of the beast Leonard Shesmu saw when he first came into this world.

    Understanding the importance of the speech and the severity of the tone, Shesmu respectfully nodded and said, "Understood. I shall keep those words to heart."

    Leonard''s eyes stayed cold and his lips glued together. That was before he brought out the biggest smile Shesmu had ever seen

    "Hahaha, good good," Leonard repeated as he hugged Shesmu. He then let out and looked at him.

    "You''re now a brother. All warriors of this land are brothers in arms. We care for each other, we help each other in times of need, and we all stand together¡ªboth against the viles and vile humans."

    He then showed the way towards the exit of the dojo.

    "Come, I shall show you around the place."

    Shesmu was a bit surprised by the whole ordeal, but in the end, he decided to just go with the flow.

    As they were leaving the dojo, Shesmu looked around to see the ghosts still practicing. As he looked around, a fleeting thought crossed his mind. Between these hundreds of nameless ghosts, maybe one of his old friends was out there practicing, and he would never know.

    However, just as he was about to be engulfed by that train of thought, Leonard''s voice snapped him back to reality.

    "Hey, Thomas! Come here!"

    A scrawny man came running forward. The moment he saw Shesmu, his eyes dilated in shock and he stopped in place. He immediately bowed and greeted in a loud voice.

    "Greetings, your grace!"

    Shesmu scanned the man with his eyes. He was wearing a green suit coat, black pants, and a red bowtie to compliment his suit. Although his dark hair was balding, it was well combed.

    Shesmu''s eyebrows wiggled in confusion as he looked at the man. Weird choice of clothes, he thought.

    "Hahaha! Thomas! What an exaggerated greeting, you look like you''ve seen a ghost!"

    While Leonard kept laughing obnoxiously, Thomas'' fist shook in anger.

    "Leonard! How barbaric! How can you talk like that in front of his grace, do you not know any shame?!"

    Standing by the sidelines, Shesmu resisted the urge to laugh. Looking at Thomas berating Leonard in a deep British accent while the latter just continued laughing loudly was a moment to remember.

    "Anyway, this gentleman here, ehh¡ª" Leonard looked in Shesmu''s direction, embarrassed.

    "My name is Shesmu."

    "Thanks," Leonard curtly replied before focusing back on Thomas. "So, Shesmu still needs to continue his registration process. Can we get done with that already?"

    "It''s his GRACE Shesmu!" Thomas shouted at Leonard before bowing in the direction of Shesmu. "I''m deeply sorry, your grace. This brute has no clue about the etiquette of high society."

    "Ah, it''s okay, Thomas. I don''t mind." Shesmu paused for a second before continuing, "But nevermind that, we should start with the registration."

    "Right away, your grace." Thomas then ran towards his desk to prepare a chair. "Please, your grace Shesmu, take some rest."

    Shesmu looked at Leonard. The latter just shrugged with his shoulders and smiled, not caring what Shesmu did. In the end, Shesmu accepted Thomas'' invitation and sat down.

    After Shesmu sat down, Thomas went back to his desk and started rummaging for something. After a few seconds, he finally found what he was looking for. He came in front of Shesmu while holding a golden paper.

    "Aha, finally. Here, your grace, this is the paper of light. Only such paper is worthy for someone of your stature."

    Shesmu took hold of the paper and started reading it. It was some kind of birth certificate, but for nobles. While reading, Shesmu found a certain paragraph that piqued his interest.

    "Hey, Thomas. It says here "Prospective High Noble". What does that mean, exactly?"

    Thomas took back the golden paper before responding, "Yes, your grace. His majesty the king, and milords the highs decided that any man or woman of the golden generation whose hair or eyes are golden would be given the prospective title. For your grace, it means that you shall be respected as a high through the land. However, you aren''t granted land until you become a full-fledged noble, which I''m sure you will."

    Listening to Thomas'' speech, Shesmu remembered that in his past life there was this event where all noble players gathered. He had a hunch that this thing about the prospective title was related somehow to that event.

    "Interesting, tell me more. How do I become a true high noble."

    "Yes, your grace. Once a year, young masters come from far and wide to the capital. Their purpose is one, to prove that they are able to lead their people and be victorious. Every noble that reached the age of adulthood is given a small army and a base. And for a full month, they wage war against each other. Nobles that captured two bases other than their own are the winner. His majesty the king rewards them, and they''re declared full-fledged nobles as according to their birthright."

    Shesmu took a few seconds to absorb this deluge of information. The first question that came to his mind was when did this gathering even happen? However, Shesmu forwent to ask this question as it wasn''t of interest to him right now. He could always find out later. What was more important for him now was to get done with the registration process and start slashing things.

    "That''s interesting, I will definitely keep it in mind. Thanks, Thomas."

    Understanding Shesmu''s signal to drop the subject, Thomas sat up and said, "It''s my pleasure, your grace. Please wait for a moment as I get the seal. We can then finish with the registration."

    Thomas went back to his desk and rummaged once again. He took out a golden seal from within the pile of papers and random stuff. He kneeled in front of Shesmu before presenting him with the seal.

    "Your grace, the seal needs your blood to remember your soul. Please put it on your thumb for a few seconds."

    Shesmu took the seal from within Thomas'' hand and put it on his thumb. It stung for a bit, and blood dripped into it for a few seconds before Shesmu took it off.

    "Thank you, your grace. You shall now be officially given the title of High Noble. May you guide this land to glory!"

    With those words, Thomas stamped the paper of light. It glowed in a thousand different colors before disintegrating into colorful particles.

 12 Resonance

    New Skill Acquired

    Noble''s Pride

    Level: 1 (Max)

    Cost: 0 (Passive)

    A noble''s pride is also a noble''s duty. The noble protects the civilians, and in counterpart the civilians respect the noble.

    Gain of reputation in Pliyx Stal Kingdom is doubled.

    Loss of reputation in Pliyx Stal Kingdom is doubled.

    New Title Acquired

    Golden Eye of the Golden Child

    As a holder of the golden eyes, your rights have been determined by birth. But as children of the golden generation, you have no family to inherit or favor to be graced with. However, fret not, as the king granted you the chance to receive a territory and be a beacon of hope for this country.

    This title gives you the same standing as that of a High Noble.

    "Your grace, there is one final thing I need to show you." Thomas closed his eyes and his hand glowed golden. He touched Shesmu''s forehead with his finger and a notification appeared in front of him.

    Mental Teaching Activated

    Do you accept the connection?

    Yes | No

    Yes. A new interface appeared in front of Shesmu.

    New Skill Acquired

    Inspect

    Level: 1

    Cost: 0 Energy

    Shows basic information about the objects inspected. It does not work on object 10 levels higher than the skill.

    "You guys are finally done?"

    Leonard, who stood silent for the whole time at the corner finally spoke.

    "By the name of all the aspects in the sky, what took you so long?"

    "How rude!" Thomas objected. He looked at Shesmu and said, "Please, your grace, forgive this peasant for not knowing how to behave."

    "Ah, whatever." Leonard grabbed Shesmu by the hand and said. "Let''s go Shesmu, there is still other stuff that you need to know."

    Shesmu looked back at Thomas only to see him bowing in his direction. "Farewell, your grace. May your adventures in this world be full of thrill and happiness."

    Shesmu smiled back at Thomas and said, "Farewell, Thomas. I enjoyed your company very much."

    The two made their way towards the building, leaving Thomas back in his desk. After leaving through the gates, Shesmu looked around to see the buildings surrounding the hall.

    "This building that we just came out of is called the Warrior''s Hall. It''s where the new beginner warriors get their initiation. The other buildings you see do the same but for the other classes."

    The surroundings of Shesmu resembled a small village. There were buildings everywhere. Homes, halls, churches, and towers. The place was packed. Surrounding it all was a wall of stone. And in each corner, there was a watchtower, looking out for danger.

    "The tower over there is where the mage newbies spawn. That church is for priests, and that hall is for assassins. But those don''t really matter to you now. The interesting bit is behind all of those: The training ground."

    Shesmu walked after Leonard while looking at the other buildings. Players came out, accompanied by their instructor. They all wore different sets of clothes, robes, cloaks, chainmails, and gowns.

    Finally, the two reached the training ground. An open space with dummies all around.

    "So, Shesmu. Let me do some explanations first before letting you on your way. The space around you is the training ground." He then walked and said, "Reveal."

    The earth glowed in a bright shade of orange. Pillars of golden light appeared all over the training ground. Light made its way from one pillar to the next forming a pentagon. And finally, two circles surrounded the formation, with runes slowly popping into existence between the perimeters of the two.

    Shesmu covered his eyes from the blinding light. After opening them again, he gasped at the sight of the magic circle. Woah, this one is huge. Is it a tier III spell?

    "This little gem here is the cornerstone on which this whole camp was built. You can train all you want, you''ll never run out of energy."

    Shesmu did know about this ability, he just didn''t know that what was holding it was a tier III spell. Seems like they got a really talented enchanter to make this one.

    Leonard coughed to catch Shesmu''s attention before talking with a serious voice. "The reason why I came with you here is but one. It''s for one final lesson. The technique that I''ll show you isn''t a spell that you could just call in your mind for it to activate. You need to have an extremely strong vision and unparalleled talent."

    He then took a deep breath and said. "Look and listen, I''ll only say this once. Focus on your mind, focus on your spirit, focus on everything that makes you, you."

    Shesmu took a deep breath and closed his eyes. By the time he opened them, a white aura covered his irises. From the surface of the floor came a mist. This mist swirled and turned, and with each spin, it turned darker and darker. By the end, the white mist became a black shadow. One reminiscent of the shadow Shesmu saw in the character creation.

    * * *

    "Woah."

    Leonard was surprised. He couldn''t see the mist nor the shadow, but the white aura in Shesmu''s eyes told him the full story.

    "What a terrifying talent."

    Leonard understood that he shouldn''t disturb Shesmu in his current state. Nothing he could teach him would be more important than indulging in this trance. As such, he went out of the way and sat under the shade of a nearby tree.

    He kept looking at Shesmu fighting against the air for long minutes without saying a word. Suddenly, he heard chattering in the distance. He turned around only to see a very familiar face. Leonard''s complexion turned worse as he looked at the man approaching.

    White skin, dark hair, and thin eyebrows. The man had a peaceful smile that never left his face. However, behind that facade, Leonard knew that a beast of unknown terror was hidden.

    "Damnit, of all people it could only be him," He muttered. His eyebrows rose in surprise after as he questioned. "But why would he come though? He never leaves his hole unless the world is burning."

    Leonard''s eyes then glanced at next to the man. A small red-headed kid walked beside him. His cloak told Leonard his full story.

    "An assassin apprentice, huh," He murmured under his breath.

    "Oh, Leonard, fancy seeing you here," The man exclaimed with a bright voice.

    "Spare me the pleasantries Shin, what made you crawl out of your hole this time."

    Shin''s face showed no reaction to the hostility of Leonard. He kept his everlasting smile plastered on his face as he responded, "My little birdie told me that this morning would be interesting." He then looked at the kid on his right before continuing. "So far, I haven''t been disappointed."

    Leonard''s attention immediately focused on the child next to Shin. His hair was bright red and well combed. His eyes were blue like the ocean, and his small frame made him seem weak and vulnerable.

    Interesting, Leonard thought. He then asked, "What''s your name, kid?"

    The child looked at him before responding, "The name is Ryan."

    "Good name, I''m guessing you have a few tricks up your sleeves to catch the attention of Shin."

    Ryan grinned before responding, "Something like that."

    He then turned towards Shin and asked, "Shin, we reached the training ground, now can you tell me why you wanted me to walk all the way over here."

    Shin responded in a warm voice, "I''m going to teach you a certain technique, and here is a much better place for practice than the hall."

    He then turned around towards Leonard, "But it seems like I wasn''t the only one who had this idea." Even though Shin''s lips kept smiling, his eyes glowed with a dangerous glint. "I didn''t think that you would be able to teach your student Resonance in such a short time."

    Leonard''s eyes darted to Shesmu for a second before focusing back on Shin. "That''s not something I taught him. Shesmu learned Resonance on his own."

    Shin stayed silent for a few seconds before finally responding. This time, his voice was no longer cold. "That''s an enviable talent." He then looked at Ryan before focusing back on Shesmu. "Seems like this batch of students is going to be interesting."

    "Resonance," Ryan muttered. "Is that the technique you were gonna teach me?" He asked looking up at Shin.

    "Not really," Shin said slowly.

    "Just tell me how it works and I''ll figure it out," Ryan cut in. His eyes shone with a competitive fire as they looked at Shesmu.

    "Hahaha, you have a lively student, Shin. Seems like you need to learn a thing or two from him." Leonard laughed while looking at the duo. He liked kids with a bit of edge, with a bit of fire burning in them. And this kid showed exactly that.

    Shin just shook his head and said, "Honestly, you two." He then looked at Ryan and continued, "Okay then. I can show you how to do Resonance. But remember this, don''t feel bad if you cannot do it or if it''s hard. This skill is one that needs lots and lots of training, years even for the less fortunate. Both me and Leonard here were only able to master it once we reached the pinnacle of tier II."

    "Just tell me how to do it. I''m not so childish as to need this kind of pep talk." Ryan''s cut in made Leonard almost burst out laughing.

    Shin just smiled wryly in response before continuing, "Resonance is the most basic interaction with the ether. Ether is the energy that surrounds us all. It''s what makes the apples fall, it''s what makes your body stand together, and it''s also what makes casting spells possible."

    Shin then touched Ryan''s forehead with his index and middle finger. "Close your eyes and look deep within yourself. Do not say anything. Do not listen to me. I do not exist, only the world inside you does."

    Shin''s fingers glowed with a white aura. This aura jumped from his fingers and onto Ryan''s forehead. It then pulsated throughout the kid''s whole body before disappearing.

    Leonard and Shin kept looking at Ryan with bated breath. The kid kept his eyes closed for a few seconds before opening them. They were white.

    "What a terrifying kid," Leonard muttered.

    Ryan unsheathed his dagger and started slashing at the air. He dodged, parried and blocked invisible moves. He would then counterattack with flabbergasting speeds. His movements were clean-cut, no fat in his steps, no acrobatics, just clean footwork.

    Leonard looked at Shin and said, "These kids are scary. Were you the one who taught him that footwork?"

    Shin stayed silent for a few seconds, smiling as he looked at Ryan''s movements. Only after a few moments had passed did he respond. "No, it''s something that he knew since before he came to this world."

    "Phew, for kids their age to have such high combat mastery. I wonder how their world looks like. Is it even more terrifying than this one?"

    Shin didn''t respond to Leonard''s musings. He just kept contemplating Ryan''s footwork, not missing any step.

    Understanding that he wouldn''t talk, Leonard joined Shin in his silence and kept looking at his disciple. The two observed their students under the shade of the tree for more than an hour, before they finally fell on the ground, unconscious.

 13 Ready Stance

    Shesmu woke up to a slight headache. The only thing he remembered was fighting his shadow within resonance. After that, everything was blank. He looked up only to be greeted by the rays of light passing through the leaves of a tree.

    "The princess of Voldorwing has finally awakened."

    By this point, Shesmu would be able to recognize Leonard''s laughter between a million one. He turned towards the direction of the voice only to see Leonard standing next to a tall white man. His everlasting smile was like the spring breeze. His blue eyes were as clear as the sky.

    Shesmu stood up from under the shade of the tree. "I may be the princess of Voldorwing, but at least I''m not the old man of Summerrise."

    Leonard was surprised at first before he burst out laughing. "Hahaha, so you outworlders also know about the old man of Summerrise. Good, good, that was a good one."

    Shesmu stood silent, just smiling in response to Leonard''s laughter, before hinting at Shin with his eyes.

    Understanding the nonverbal communication, Leonard coughed and said, "Yeah, some introductions are due. This creep here is named Shin. Don''t let his smile fool you, this guy is scarier than any vile you would ever encounter in the wild."

    Shin just shrugged in response to Leonard''s introduction, a smile of defeat plastered on his face.

    "Don''t listen to this old man''s rambling. I''m just a normal assassin instructor who is living in peace in this camp," he said while offering his hand to shake.

    Shesmu swiftly obliged while also introducing himself. "Nice to meet you, I''m Shesmu. Just a normal outworlder."

    Shin looked Shesmu in the eyes for a few seconds before responding, "Well, nothing you have done until now could be described normal."

    Shesmu just scratched his head awkwardly before looking away, trying to find a way to change the subject. His eyes fell on a person laying on a nearby tree. It was a teenage kid. His hair was red, and his skin fair.

    Shin followed Shesmu''s line of sight, before his eyes landed on Ryan. Understanding Shesmu confusion, he started the introductions.

    "That''s Ryan. He is my student," Shin said, smiling.

    Shesmu scanned Ryan once again with his eyes before thinking, Huh, his small frame definitely helps as an assassin.

    "And he is as much of a monster as if not even more!"

    Leonard''s obnoxiously loud voice garnered Shesmu''s attention immediately. He turned around only to be welcomed by Leonard''s bear hug.

    "You cheeky little brat. You didn''t tell me that you knew about Resonance already!"

    While Leonard''s pats to the back shook Shesmu to the core, his loud, hearty laughter made Shesmu not have the heart to stop him. He just wryly smiled and waited for Leonard''s excitement to die down.

    "Ehm, hm."

    "Hi!"

    "So the two monsters are finally awake."

    Hearing Leonard''s comment, Shesmu was confused. It''s normal for Leonard to think that he is a monster, he already showed it by being able to use Resonance, but what about Ryan?

    "Ohh! I remember you! You were that cool dude with the sword who was doing all those fancy moves before. How did you do them?"

    "Ehh¡­" Ryan''s barrage of questions left Shesmu speechless for a bit. "A lot of training, I guess?"

    "Ah, you''re right," Ryan nodded in response. "With enough hard work and training anything is possible!"

    "Haha, you talk as if you haven''t done exactly the same thing," Leonard couldn''t help but burst out, laughing.

    Ryan''s smiling face turned confused after Leonard spoke. "Did I? Agh!" The moment Ryan asked his question, he let out a scream while clenching his head. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead and his hand shook.

    The trio stood concerned in front of Ryan.

    "Hey, are you okay?" Shesmu asked.

    Ryan caught his breath before stopping Shesmu with his hand. "Yeah, I''m okay. Sorry for your concern." He took a few breaths in and out before finally standing upright. "It''s just that I don''t remember what happened. The last thing I recall is Shin touching my forehead and this bolt of electricity running through my body."

    Shin scratched his chin for a second, deep in his thoughts before saying, "I haven''t heard of any case of memory loss due to Resonance, but it shouldn''t be too problematic since it was just temporary." He then gave Ryan a serious look. "Either way, you should definitely not attempt it again in a short period of time. It is already mentally taxing as it is."

    Ryan nodded at Shin absentmindedly. His eyes weren''t focused on him, or anyone in particular. They kept darting around until finally.

    "Ehhh!"

    A look of shock was plastered all over his face.

    "I need to go sorry. My friend is waiting for me!"

    Ryan bolted out of the training ground and off to the distance. However, just as he was making his way out, Shin''s question stopped him dead in his tracks.

    "Do you even know where your friend is?"

    After decelerating to a halt, Ryan looked back at Shin and scratched his head awkwardly. "Ehm, sorry, can you tell me which way is the main gate?"

    "Haha," Leonard laughed. "No need for that, let''s all go together. That''s our final destination afterall."

    Shin smiled and added, "That''s right. There were a few techniques that I wanted to show you before you go, but Resonance took all of our time."

    Remembering the subject of time, Shesmu immediately asked, "Since we brought up the subject of time, for how long have we been unconscious?"

    "About half an hour or so," Shin replied.

    "The other outworlders, or players as you call yourself, already formed their team and entered the Forest of Beginning. We might want to cut down on the talk and get to the main gate so that you form your team and be on your way."

    Shesmu looked at Ryan for a few seconds, scanning his future teammate. While he didn''t really care for the quality of his teammates, as he could easily carry with his future knowledge, Shesmu did like to have an understanding of those he will be playing with.

    "Hey, Ryan. Mind going for a spar, just for five minutes."

    Ryan got startled by that suggestion, not expecting it to come out of nowhere. "Eh, now? I mean, my friend is already waiting for me. And it''s been so long already, I promised-"

    "Just tell him to come here," Shesmu cut in. "It''s not like we can go anywhere without forming our team first. And I will not team up with someone I don''t know the fighting level of." Shesmu''s look turned serious as he said those last words.

    "Ohh, I like this! Some competitive spirit is in the air! Young''uns like you should definitely let loose and battle up!"

    While Leonard was cheering for the two to battle and worked as a hype man, Shin just shook his head while sighing.

    "Teens and their hotheadedness," He muttered under his breath.

    "Humu, okay, we can do it. Just wait for me to send a message to Leo and I''m with you."

    Hearing the name Leo, Shesmu''s eyes widened. No, wait, this could be a different Leo. Don''t get too excited, Shesmu. He then took a deep breath and focused on Ryan. The two unsheathed their weapon, and readied for a clash.

 14 Confrontation

    Shesmu unsheathed his sword and readied his stance. His eyes scanned Ryan as he did the same with his dagger. Ryan''s aura completely changed. No longer was he the cute kid that made everyone''s smile. His expression was cold. His blue eyes shone with a dangerous glint.

    "Hooo, this kid has the aura of a killer," Leonard commented while looking at Shin. The latter just smiled and nodded.

    Ryan walked slowly towards Shesmu, his hand held low, loosely holding on the dagger. Suddenly, he disappeared.

    Dash!

    Shesmu immediately teleported in the air. Looking down, he saw Ryan slashing at the spot where he just stood. As Shesmu was looking at him, Ryan''s eyes immediately locked onto Shesmu.

    After making a backflip in the air, Shesmu finally returned to the ground. Ryan accelerated towards Shesmu with tremendous speeds. His dagger cloaked in a dark shadow as he did.

    Shesmu rolled in the ground to dodge Ryan''s attack. He then immediately pounced at his opponent with undaunted ferocity. He then slashed at him with an upward motion, putting considerable weight behind his strike.

    Ryan held his dagger with one hand and supported it with the other so as to parry Shesmu''s incoming attack. However, the power behind the slash still managed to break past his barrier and injure him.

    Shesmu used inspect to monitor the damage he had done to Ryan¡ªTwenty. Shesmu readied his stance once again and slowly approached his enemy. However, Ryan wasn''t as patient as him. He immediately dashed towards him to get into close quarters with Shesmu.

    Seeing how open Ryan was, Shesmu diagonally slashed. Ryan immediately dodged it. With a quick movement of his feet, he sidestepped to the right without losing any momentum. A dark aura covered his dagger as he thrust at Shesmu''s chest. That''s when it stopped.

    "Huh?"

    Ryan looked below to see why his hand stopped only to see Shesmu''s left hand catching his arm from the elbow. Shesmu didn''t give Ryan any chance to think, he immediately slashed horizontally at his neck with his right hand.

    However, instead of the gush of blood and paint of red, Shesmu saw¡­ nothing. Ryan disappeared from within his hand. He then felt a hand grab him by the collar and a leg hitting the back of his knee.

    As Shesmu was losing balance, he saw Ryan''s face smiling as he thrust his dagger towards Shesmu''s neck. Shesmu smiled in return.

    "Huh?"

    Shesmu disappeared from Ryan''s eyesight. The only thing he felt was the touch of cold steel on his neck.

    "Stop!" Leonard''s shout signaled the end of the battle.

    Ryan turned around to see Shesmu''s blade clad in a green aura grazing his neck.

    Shesmu put his sword back in its sheath before reaching his hand out to shake.

    "Good fight Ryan. Your movements gave me chills."

    Well, technically, you''re not wrong, Shesmu thought while smiling.

    "Good fight both of you! Watching you made my blood boil in excitement!"

    Leonard''s pat to the back shook both Shesmu and Ryan to the core. They looked at each other for a second before letting out a chuckle.

    He then took a more serious tone as he said, "Shesmu, your fighting style is methodical, I really can''t find any fault in it. The only thing I would nitpick is your lack of proactiveness. Even though you won, it was always by a counterattack."

    Shesmu raised his eyebrows in surprise before just nodding silently. While he didn''t agree with Leonard''s school of thought, he wasn''t going to face him about it.

    "As for you, Ryan. You''re a beast. And I mean that in both the good and the bad way. Your reactions are insane, the way you move is feral, and your strikes are deadly. But you also leave yourself open! If it was a real battle, your head would be on the floor." Leonard announced with fervor. He then clicked his tongue and continued with a much lower voice, "Though, I''m sure it''s no matter for you players¡­"

    "Amazing performance," Shin cut in. "You have shown a level that is much higher than any of your brethren. All of the golden generations can''t hold a candle to you. Now that you''re both on the same team, winning the race should be a certainty"

    "Race?" Ryan asked, his face filled with confusion.

    However, before Shin could even answer, a new person came in.

    "Oy! Ryan! You little shit, you made me wait for so long!"

    This voice, Shesmu had heard it before. It was all too familiar. Ryan''s previous words about Leo replayed in his mind as he turned around. And there he was. His black spiky hair. His tall, big frame. Shesmu wouldn''t mistake him even in a horde of thousand. It was Leo, his friend.

    "Hey! Who are you calling a little shit? Just because you''re tall you think you can go around talking crap?"

    "You made me wait all this time and you''re still talking smack? Damnit, Ryan, you never change. What were you even doing that took you so long?"

    "Ehh, Instructor Shin showed me a new technique, so that took up a lot of time."

    "Oh, you got to learn some special techniques? So lucky!"

    "Yeah, and then I sparred with Shesmu," Ryan added while looking at the latter. Leo followed Ryan''s line of sight. When the two''s eyes crossed, Shesmu couldn''t help but feel the urge to jump and hug right at that moment. It took all of his effort to just close his eyes, take a deep breath, and smile.

    "Hey, I''m Shesmu. Leo, right?"

    Hearing Shesmu''s introduction, Leo walked towards him with a smile before offering his hand to shake.

    "Nice to meet you, Shesmu. And yes, my name is Leo." He then turned towards Ryan before continuing, "And this guy''s name is¡ª"

    "Ryan!" Ryan cut in with a loud voice. His eyes stared daggers at Leo.

    "Ehh, aren''t you forgetting an adjective before that?"

    Ryan pounced at Leo and started scratching his hair with his hand, "When I say my name is Ryan, it means that my name is Ryan!"

    "Ai! Ouch! Hey, that hurts! Stop! Okay, I understand, just stop!"

    Confused by what the two were talking about, Shesmu used Inspect once more on Ryan. Last time, he was totally focused on the battle so he focused only on the HP.

    "D-Ryan," Shesmu muttered slowly.

    Hearing him say those words, Ryan opened his mouth surprised for a second before he just sighed in defeat.

    "Pfft," Leo chuckled in response to Ryan''s reaction. He then looked at him and said, "If you''re this embarrassed of the name, why did you choose it in the first place."

    "Ahh. I don''t know, it was just a spur of the moment kinda thing. I always used it so it kinda just stuck. Damnit!"

    While the trio of players talked with each other, Leonard coughed a few times to bring attention to him.

    "Ehm, so I know that you guys really want to get to know each other. I get that. But the race already started half an hour ago and you princesses still haven''t even learned about how to use the party system yet!"

    "Oh yeah, about the race. What''s that about?" Ryan asked.

    "You guys still don''t know about that?" Leo asked, confused. "Every other team already packed up and is making their way to the Tower of Might."

    "Ehm, yes. But before that, you all need to make a party before that. I''m not sure exactly how you players do it, but it has something to do with sharing your true name, and system interface. I don''t know, I don''t really remember."

    Sighing at Leonard''s half-assed explanation, Shin sighed and said, "To make a party, first call the word Status, in your mind. Same as you do with your skills. An interface should appear in front of you, right?"

    Shesmu followed Shin''s commands and a blue interface appeared right in front of him. It showed his character stats, race, class, and level. However, right at the top, there were many tabs. The one he was looking at right was the character one. There was also the skill tab, the item tab, and the community tab.

    "You should see multiple tabs right on top of your screen. You can think the title for each of them if you want to enter it, but for now, focus on the community one."

    Community, Shesmu thought and the screen changed. This time, it showed friends list, party members, guild, and organizations.

    "Focus on the party window, and a message should appear."

    Do you want to create a party?

    Yes | No

    "Okay, so now that we reached this stage, who of you wants to be party leader?"

    At Shin''s question, Ryan immediately jumped in. "I want!"

    "Stop it, Ryan," Leo rebuked. "Don''t be so childish."

    "It''s okay," Shesmu said. "You can be party leader."

    "Ehh?" While Leo was confused, Ryan jumped up and down with excitement. "Yay!"

    "Okay, so Ryan is the party leader. Just say think "yes", then. After that, just think of the true names of the people you want to invite."

    "Okay!" Ryan responded.

    A few seconds later, Shesmu received a notification. It was a party invitation from Ryan. After accepting it, images of Leo and Ryan appeared at the bottom-right corner of his vision. They were accompanied by a green and yellow bar at the bottom of each image. Understanding that it might impact his fighting capabilities, Shesmu issued a command in the depths of his mind.

    Deactivate Party Mode.

    The images then disappeared from Shesmu''s vision, alleviating the visual noise he was experiencing before.

    "Ohh! So, I can see everyone''s HP and energy levels at all times? Neat!"

    "Yes, this one of the benefits you players get," Shin stated. "Either way, time is passing and you need to get going. The race is already in full swing. The first to reach the tower of might is to be handsomely rewarded."

 15 The Road To The Tower Of Migh

    "Okay, so before we make our way towards the tower of might. Let''s do some checkups first," Shesmu stated with a serious tone. He then asked, "You all know how to access your map, right?"

    "Yeah!"

    "No¡­"

    The two''s voices overlapped. They both turned towards each other before Leo asked, "Wait, how do you know?"

    Ryan winked and said, "That''s a secret."

    "Goddamnit, Ryan. Now isn''t the time!"

    "Just think "map" in your head." Shesmu immediately cut to the chase. "If there is one thing I understood about this game, it''s that you can call almost anything through your mind that is related to the system, and it would appear."

    "Ohh, I see, that''s neat!" Leo exclaimed.

    In the meantime, Ryan scratched his chin deep in thoughts before asking, "Hmm, if that''s how it works, then it would make sense for there to be a list of commands somewhere that we can access, no?"

    This kid is sharp, interesting.

    "Yeah, I thought the same thing," Shesmu responded. "And after a couple tests, I found where the list is. Just think "System Command List" in your mind and it should appear."

    The two stayed silent for a minute before they exclaimed in surprise.

    "Oh! It works!"

    "Ohh! That''s neat! But how did you find out about it?"

    Shesmu already prepared for Ryan''s question. "First thing I did when I logged in was to play around with the system. Plus, since games like these generally do have a command list, I expected it to have one too. So, I just tried different combinations of words in my mind until one worked out."

    "Hmm, I see. Interesting, I should have thought about it," Ryan said. "But you would think that such an elementary and essential feature would somewhere I could easily see, no?"

    "Yeah, you''re right. It''s probably mentioned somewhere in the status window, I just haven''t bothered looking for it," Shesmu answered.

    "Anyway, guys, let''s drop the chit-chat. I''ve already waited for half an hour, I''m not gonna wait for more to play this game!" Leo cut in.

    "Yes! I can''t wait to slay some three-headed ogres! The trailer got me hyped up, let''s see what this game is all about!"

    Listening to Ryan''s excited speech, Shesmu just shook his head.

    "Well, first, let''s check the map to see where this Tower of Might even is."

    Shesmu issued a command in the depths of his mind, and a 2d map appeared in front of him. It showed with blue dots their current position, in the middle of the camp. Outside was gargantuan forest that spread far and wide. Some parts were colored green, while others blood red. The tower of might stood behind the red spots, north-east of the camp.

    "Oh, I see some red spots on the map. I''m guessing those are danger zones?" Ryan asked.

    "Probably," Leo responded. "I mean, just focus on them with your eye and it will give you a description."

    Following Ryan''s suggestion, the trio made their way out of the camp. As they passed through the gate, they could see from far the Tower of Might. It stood there in the distance, behind dense forest, towering above the trees. Red and black drawings decorated its ivory texture. Paintings of demons coming from underground, fighting elves and dragons. All the while angels descended from the sky illuminated by holy light.

    "Ohh, those paintings are so cool! Are we gonna fight demons in that tower?" Leo exclaimed, his eyes burning with excitement.

    "Silly you, if we fight demons this early, what will be there for us to fight in the late game? Galaxy destroying eldritch gods?"

    Ryan''s rebuttable made Leo drop his shoulders and awkwardly laugh. The three then continued walking down the main road before Shesmu stopped them.

    "Guys, we probably should take a detour now and enter the forest."

    "Hmm," Ryan checked the map one more time before responding. "Yeah, you''re right. If we continue down the main road, we''re gonna be way off course."

    "Okay then," Leo said. And as he said those words, colorful light with little intensity shone next to his arm. After the light faded, a small shield appeared on his right arm.

    "Oohhh!! That is so cool!" Ryan exclaimed. "How did you do it?"

    "It''s a system command. You just say "Summon" followed by the name of the equipment and it appears."

    "Oh! I see. That''s actually neat! You could do some real cool stuff with that. Wait, let me just check the command list and show you what I''m thinking."

    While Shesmu stood by the sideline, he was interested about what Ryan would do. Ryan already intrigued him with the fight that happened before, and how natural he was with the dagger and the skills of the game. It would be interesting to see what else he had in store.

    Ryan played with his dagger a bit before it suddenly disappeared.

    "Okay then, now for the real trick!" He swung his empty arm in a swinging motion at the direction of Leo. The latter instinctively guarded against the incoming attack with his shield. When Ryan''s hand finally reached Leo''s guard, colorful light shone and a dagger appeared inside it.

    "Oy! Why did you suddenly attack me?!"

    Leo raised his eyebrows in surprise and confusion at Ryan''s sudden hostility.

    "Hmm, I guess the swinging motion isn''t really the best idea when trying to assassinate." Finishing his train of thought, Ryan stepped closer to Leo, grinned and said, "Come here, let me tell you something."

    "No no no, you stay the fuck back! You want me to approach you while you have that crazy grin on your face?! You outta your mind!"

    "Tch," Ryan clicked his tongue when his plan failed before finally sheathing his sword.

    "Haha." Shesmu''s light chuckle made both Leo and Ryan surprised.

    Ryan chuckled in return before saying, "See, so you can laugh too."

    Shesmu raised his eyebrows in confusion at Ryan''s comment. Wait, was I that broody? Shesmu thought.

    "Hahaha, I''m just kidding. It''s just that you haven''t been talking so much so I feared that there might be some ice between us."

    Hearing Ryan''s concerns, Leo jumped in too. "Yeah, we still haven''t even properly introduced each other."

    Shesmu was elated by the duo''s proposition. Since Leo came into the picture, he had been thinking of ways to integrate the group without being too pushy. But now since they gave him this opportunity, Shesmu would definitely take it.

    "Okay, so who wants to start first?"

    "Sure, I''ll start," Ryan said. He then blushed before finally blurting out, "Ryan is my in game name. My real name is Ryan. Yes, I know, not the most original, but anyway. I normally play swordsman, but this game I wanted to spice things up a bit and play Assassin." He then thought for a second before concluding, "Ehh, I think that''s it in terms of basic introduction."

    After Ryan finished, Leo followed suit.

    "Okay, guess it''s my turn. My name is Leo, I usually play knight, or any other tank the game allows me to play. Also, games I played would be things like Last Stand and Demon Heart."

    At the mention of Demon Heart, Shesmu''s lips widened into a faint smile. "Huh, so you played Demon Heart too. I spent a long time in that game. Like ten years."

    At Shesmu''s response, Ryan raised his eyebrows before asking. "Your name is Shesmu, and you''ve been playing Demon Heart for 10 years. Are you, possibly, God Speed Shesmu?"

    Ryan''s question stirred quite the reaction from Leo. His mouth opened wide before exclaiming, "No way! God Speed Shesmu, for real?!"

    Seeing the reaction of Leo and Ryan, Shesmu just sighed and shook his head in disappointment.

    "Ehh, yeah, it''s me, Shesmu. But don''t worry guys, I also piss and shit like everyone else on the planet."

    Both Leo and Ryan laughed awkwardly at Shesmu''s response.

    "Yeah, sorry for that," Leo apologized. "It''s just that it was quite the surprise to find out who you are."

    "Yeah, sorry," Ryan followed while laughing sheepishly.

    Shesmu just shook his head left and right. "Nah, don''t worry about it. It''s normal. Now, my real question, is who are you Ryan to be able to fight at such a high level against me when you have never played the Assassin class before."

 16 Question

    "Nah, don''t worry about it. It''s normal. Now, my real question is, Who are you Ryan to be able to fight at such a high level against me when you have never played the Assassin class before."

    Shesmu''s question made both Ryan surprised¡ªLeo, even more so. He looked at his friend with an incredulous face. "Wait what? You almost beat Shesmu in combat?! How?!!"

    Ryan, surprised at the turn of events, just shrugged and said, "I don''t know. I just went with the motion and my body did all the work. Everything felt so natural to me that I didn''t even have to think about it."

    Ryan''s remark left Leo with an open jaw. "You cheeky bastard! Just because you got to do something good for once doesn''t mean you get to brag and flex like that!"

    Shesmu, on the other hand, had a serious look on his face. That''s very weird, very suspicious. I would get it for him to be so good if he was a pro player at some other game before, but that doesn''t seem to be the case.

    In the end, Shesmu just smiled and dropped the train of thought. The only way he could confirm his suspicions of Ryan was for the latter to admit them. And Shesmu wasn''t so much of a prick as to force an answer from someone he barely got to know.

    "Hahaha, seems like you''re a natural at this game. That''s great! We could be a really nasty team together."

    "Oy!" Leo exclaimed. "Don''t just throw me off the picture just yet! I too have some nasty parries, just so that you know!"

    Ryan raised his eyebrows at Leo''s claim. "Oh really? I don''t remember that last time we played Demon Heart. I remember us specifically get team wiped because some idiot tank forgot the boss timings."

    "Ehh, really? Did that happen?" Leo avoided Ryan''s judging stare and started whistling away.

    "Hahaha, oh, I''m sure you have some nasty parries. A tank is the heart of the team, and you shall be a great one."

    I know you will. Shesmu''s toughts were the continuation of his speech. Looking at the current Leo, he could see traces of his future self. Heart of the lion¡ªLeo of Black Moon.

    Hearing Shesmu''s praise, Ryan clicked his tongue while Leo had a smug look on his face.

    "See? Even Shesmu can see my greatness! Hahahaha!"

    Shesmu coughed twice to get back the attention of the team. "Anyway, let''s stop idling around. We already lost a lot of time, we can talk while walking."

    The two nodded and followed after Shesmu. As they made their way through the forest, Shesmu heard something move in the bushes. He signaled with his hand for Ryan and Leo the direction in which to go.

    The trio made their way through the bushes, their feet tiptoeing the ground. They made sure not to step on any branches so that they didn''t alert whatever was behind the bushes.

    Finally, they saw the creature that made the noise. A white rabbit, eyes as red as a ruby, hopping around in a patch of grass.

    As they did, the trio kept looking at the rabbit hopping around, eating one blade of grass after the other.

    Soon enough, what Shesmu was waiting for came. He signaled for Leo and Ryan to look up the tree branches. There was a short green creature stretching a bow and aiming at the rabbit. With a motion of its hand, the arrow bolted from the bow and struck the rabbit.

    "Kiri! Kiri!"

    Three more goblins went out of the bushes surrounding the area and took hold of the rabbit. That''s when Shesmu gave the signal to fight.

    Just as the ranger goblin made its way down the tree, Shesmu pounced at it and slashed its neck. A green slash was all it saw before its head rolled on the ground

    87

    Fatal Damage Activated: Instant Kill!

    Killing the ranger goblin instantly, Shesmu focused back on the other three. Once they saw Shesmu kill their brethren, they dropped the rabbit to the ground and took out their knives.

    Leo charged at them with his shield while Ryan waited for the most opportune moment to strike. The goblins dodged Leo''s attack and circled him. However, before they could even get a chance to hack away at his leg, Ryan disappeared from his position behind one of them¡ªa grin plastered all over his face.

    Shesmu didn''t stand idle either. He used his Dash skill to teleport behind one of the two goblins left. He diagonally slashed the vile''s back, leaving a deep wound across it. Without stopping for even a moment, he struck once again¡ªat the goblin''s neck this time.

    The two goblins Shesmu and Ryan engaged fell on the ground at the same time¡ªdead. The last vile, seeing its comrade falling like flies, turned its back to flee. Ryan pouced at it with incredible speeds and pierced its back with his dagger.

    "Kiri!"

    The last goblin screamed one last time before falling to the ground.

    "Whew!" Leo exclaimed in surprise. "That was fast!"

    Hearing Leo''s praise, Ryan had a smug look on his face. "Huhuhuhu, praise me more! Muwahahahahaha!"

    Shesmu chuckled in response while sheathing his sword. "Ok guys, let''s continue hunting. It''s probably best if we reach level 2 before entering the first danger zone."

    "Oh, yeah, about levels. I''m 75% of the way to level 2, what about you guys?" asked Ryan.

    Shesmu checked his EXP bar quickly before replying, "Same."

    "Oh, nice. I''m actually at 50% even though I didn''t kill any of the goblins."

    "Oh, interesting," Ryan responded. "Seems like this game has a Party Exp sharing system. Pretty nice."

    "Yeah, that definitely helps," added Shesmu. "But more importantly. Check out your inventories. Maybe these monsters dropped something."

    After a few seconds, Leo responded, "Nothing here."

    "Oh, I have something," Ryan cut in. "Some goblin loincloths, knives, and a bow."

    "Oh okay. That doesn''t seem too useful, maybe we can sell them later?" commented Leo.

    "Yeah, most likely," Shesmu responded. "Either way, let''s go. Nothing to stay here for."

    As Shesmu said those words, the party of three heard a scream from inside the forest.

    "No, stop! Kyaaa!!!"

 17 A Dreadful Encounter

    "Ah, why are they not stopping?! They keep following us!"

    Oh, players. Also, did they aggro a shitload of monsters or something?

    Once Shesmu''s thoughts reached that point, he immediately stopped in his tracks.

    "Guys, stop, let''s hide for a bit," He ordered in a calm tone. Shesmu wanted to first check out the situation before deciding on how to help the distressed players.

    Both Leo and Ryan understood the thought process of Shesmu and acted according to his instruction. The trio hid behind the shrubs, waiting for the players and whatever was chasing them to come.

    They didn''t have to wait for long, as the moment they hid was when the distressed players came. One girl, one boy, both holding their sword clumsily, ran into the clearing as if their lives depended on it.

    Seconds after the clumsy duo came in, three small green humanoid creatures appeared. Goblins? And baby goblins at that? How in the world do these creatures beat you? Shesmu was surprised, to say the least about this situation.

    "Do you know who I am? I am the hero foretold by the prophecy of old! The savior!" The guy then turned towards the girl before continuing, "Don''t worry, I will protect you from those evil creatures! Just watch my power!"

    Looking at this scene, Shesmu, Leo and Ryan thought the same thing, It''s a roleplayer¡­The trios'' eyes squinted in disappointment that couldn''t be described by words.

    "Oh, Ryuuji, you''re so cool!"

    So even the girl is in the roleplay.

    Once the trio saw this scene, they turned to look at each other. Reaching a silent mutual understanding, they nodded their head. They turned around, and silently made their way out.

    "Don''t worry, I will protect you from those vile creatures! Just watch my power!"

    "You can do it. I believe in you, kyaa!!"

    The trio kept walking as if they heard nothing. They were eager to get out of this place before the two roleplayers noticed them.

    "Shit! I got hit! How dare you goblins?!" For a second, the guy dropped his role-playing voice. The pain was clear from his tone.

    "Ryuuji, are you hurt?! We should run!"

    When Shesmu heard the panic in the duo''s voice. Something inside of him made him stop.

    If I go, these guys are probably gonna die.

    Dying in an MMO was normal, it was part of the experience. However, Shesmu still felt conflicted. It would take no effort from him to help these guys out. However, if he did turn around now, he might not hear the end of their roleplaying speech.

    When Leo and Ryan saw Shesmu stopping, they looked at him incredulously.

    "Shesmu, what''s going on? Let''s get out of here before those two nutjobs notice us," Ryan stated.

    Without waiting for their response, Shesmu ran back towards the two roleplayers. They were already disarmed and the goblins kept hitting them with their blunt knives. But the baby goblins could barely output any damage, only dealing five with each hit.

    Really how can a person possibly lose to that? Even your punches deal more damage than them.

    In less than five seconds, Shesmu arrived at the clearing. Without saying anything to the duo, he used his skill Dash to teleport towards the goblins.

    "Kiri, kiri!"

    The screeching of the goblins made Shesmu even more irritated than how he already was. He looked at one of the goblins, and before it could even react, he slashed open its neck using an Empowered Slash Cancel.

    The damage was enough to kill the goblin who barely had 100 HP.

    Without wasting any time, Shesmu grabbed the second goblin and pushed it to the ground on its head. Its skull caved in, and blood gushed out from its orifices. Seeing its ally being killed, the last baby goblin jumped towards Shesmu, trying to maim him.

    That is fortunate. They cannot even make out the difference in our strength.

    While the goblin was in midair, Shesmu muttered, "Empowered thrust." His sword glowed green and he plunged it deep into the goblin''s neck. Blood gushed out and painted Shesmu''s face red. He then took out his sword and with one final slash, he ended the goblin''s life.

    Once Shesmu finished his job, he turned around to look at the role-playing duo who were still shuddering in fear. His bloody face cracked into a big smile before he said.

    "You guys are trash."

    Shesmu could no longer hold it in his heart anymore. Being a roleplayer was one thing, being so bad was another. At this point, he had mixed feelings of anger and pity towards the couple.

    The girl became flustered when she heard Shesmu''s insult, "Hey! Yes, you saved us, but that doesn''t give you the right to insult us!¡ª"

    However, before she could even finish her rant, Ryuuji stopped her.

    "No, Sakura. He is right. At this point in time, I am simply too weak. No matter how much I want to protect you, with this power, I can''t."

    As he said those words slowly and heavily, pain could be seen in Ryuuji''s eyes. He clenched at his heart in regret before he forcefully looked at Shesmu in his eyes.

    "Great master, please, with this power of mine I cannot defend anything or anyone. I beg you, teach me how to become a strong person!"

    The light in Ryuuji''s eyes showed the strong will in his heart. However, Shesmu didn''t buy any of that. He squinted his eyes throughout the whole speech. He had a judgemental look on his face that condemned mankind for evolving to this state.

    "Nope, sorry. Just learn by yourself, it''s not that hard." Saying these words, Shesmu immediately turned his back and took off. Want me to take care of you nutjobs? Yeah, right!

    But if Shesmu had thought he would get away from this situation so easily, then he was in for a world of disappointment. Before he could even take two steps, Shesmu was stopped by a hand holding his leg. He turned around to look at what the idiot was doing again, only to be greeted by the most anime protagonist smile he has ever seen.

    "I''m sorry, but I cannot continue down this road. So that I can protect everyone that I love, for our future, I must be strong."

    "Yes! You get the chance to train the hero of old, how can you not be proud?!"

    If there was anything that annoyed Shesmu more than the chunni roleplaying hero, it would be the annoying cheerleader next to him. Nope, I''m getting out of here.

    Before he could hear any more of their rants, Shesmu used Dash to teleport away from Ryuuji. Then, with all of his strength, he sprinted out toward Leo and Ryan, who were still waiting for him deep in the forest.

    "What was that?" Leo asked.

    "No time for that, we need to get the hell out of here first." Shesmu shuddered just remembering what kind of situation he was about to be stuck in.

    As the trio continued running away from the terror that was Ryuuji and Sakura, Ryan laughed and exclaimed, "Haha, that must have been the funniest thing I have ever seen in years. For someone to scare you this much, he must be amazing in his own way!"

    In response to Ryan, Shesmu just grumbled and muttered under his breath, "yeah, he really is amazing. Just a tad bit too amazing for me."

    While the trio was still running away, Ryuuji and Sakura were still on the ground looking at their backs.

    "Hey, Ryuuji, don''t worry about it. That guy was too stupid and couldn''t see your potential. I''m sure that there will be so many others who will." Declared Sakura. But her shoulders were down and she kept looking on the ground; she was obviously dejected.

    Ryuuji looked at the direction Shesmu ran for another two seconds before turning towards Sakura. He got closer and cupped her head before looking straight at her eyes and saying. "Sakura," he then caressed her hair before continuing, "Don''t feel sad. Every hero has to go through hardships, and this is but the first one. I could sense it, that unless I train under him, it will be meaningless. I will not give up, and you should too." Ryuuji then stood up before extending his hand towards Sakura, "Get up, we still have a long journey awaiting us."

    Ryuuji then turned towards the direction Shesmu went in, he then looked up to see the Tower of Might. We will meet there, master¡­

    ***

    Shesmu was also staring at the Tower of Might. He mused It seems that we''ll only be there by the middle of the night.

    "Oh Shesmu, I reached level 2 from your duel before with the goblins, how far you off from 3?"

    "Oh, let me check, Ryan," Shesmu answered. He then looked at the exp bar below his hp and ki bars before continuing, "I got 60 exp from those 3 goblins. Still, 160 more until the next level."

    "Oh, that''s neat. If leveling is so easy, we should start grinding as fast as possible," declared Leo.

    "Yeah, it makes sense to grind first. But I''m not sure about what will happen in the Tower of Might, leveling might make whatever challenge we face there easier. Plus there are still the danger zones that we need to go through, we might want to level a bit first before going through them," Ryan suggested.

    Shesmu listened to the suggestions and thought for a bit before checking his minimap. From there, he could see multiple yellow circles; those were places with high monster density.

    "Okay then, let''s go left. We will have our fair share of monsters to fight there," Shesmu ordered.

    The duo was confused for a second before Leo asked, "wait, how do you know that there will be monsters on the left? Is it because of the yellow circle?"

    "Yeah, if you focus on them, you''ll see information related to what monster inhabits that area. I deduced that if we go there, we''ll find more monsters," Shesmu simply answered.

    With no questions left to ask, the trio turned left and continued running.

    "Kiri, Kiri!"

    Hearing the screeching of the goblins, the party stopped in its tracks. From between the trees, Shesmu could see seven goblins on the ground and four hiding on trees. He used inspect on them and found that the goblins on top of the trees were all level 3, while those on the ground were level 2.

    Shesmu signaled to his duo to sit down so as to hide.

    Ryan inspected the monsters before giving his two cents, "If they''re this weak, then we can definitely kill them. We just need to deal with the goblins in the trees first, those will be a problem."

    Well, I guess that those might be a problem if they just randomly jumped down. I should probably take care of them myself and leave the ones in the ground to these two.

    While these thoughts ran in his mind, Shesmu declared, "Yeah, let me¡ª".

    "I''ll do it," Ryan declared. Shesmu was about to tell him to reconsider, but once he looked at Ryan, his determined eyes stopped him.

    Shesmu then just smiled and said, "We''ll leave it to you then." He then looked at Leo before continuing, "Leo, we need to distract the other goblins so that Ryan can look for his assassination opportunity. Let''s do our best."

    Leo nodded at his words, and Ryan crouched before walking slowly towards the tree on which his first target resided on.

    Once Ryan came close to the tree, the duo stood up and ran towards the goblins.

    "I''ll take care of the two at the right, deal with those on the left. Be careful of the goblins above, understood?" Shesmu ordered in quick succession.

    "Understood."

    Shesmu quickly vanished from his spot using Dash and performed a normal slash towards the first goblin. Before it could even react, Shesmu''s sword slashed through its neck. Green energy flashed from Shesmu''s sword and melted in with the dark red color of goblin''s blood. Without wasting any movement, Shesmu roundhouse kicked the injured goblin and catapulted him towards its ally.

    "Kiri, Kiri!"

    The uninjured goblin cried as he fell down from the weight of his comrade. Shesmu then ran towards them and activated Empowered Thrust, he then thrust his sword into the piled-up goblins, drilling a hole through both of them.

    Blood gushed out like a fountain from their wounds, dyeing Shesmu''s pants a dark shade of red. Kicking the body of the goblin that was on top, the one on the bottom was finally freed.

    "Kiri, Kiri!"

    The goblin crawled and cried. It tried its hardest to get away from the demon that was Shesmu. It struggled as it tried to run away, falling down every few steps.

    Shesmu just stood there, not moving for a little while. Suddenly, his hand twitched. He looked at the pitiful figure of the goblin fleeing and raised his sword. Then he threw it, and it flew with incredible precision towards the monster. Its tip plunged into the goblin''s nape. It tried to cry again, but it could only gurgle. It continued struggling until finally, it stopped moving.

    +40 Exp

 18 MMO Mathematics

    Shesmu walked slowly towards the dead goblin and pulled out his sword. The way the goblins ran, the crawled, everything was so realistic.

    Although his heart was still heavy, Shesmu kept his head high. From the corner of his eyes, he glanced at Leo.

    The man was fighting with all of his might, he kept blocking with his shield most of the goblins'' hits and whenever he saw an opportunity, he hit them with his sword.

    However, even though he was putting a good fight, his HP was always on the decline due to the goblin from above throwing sharpened rocks at him. Shesmu was thinking about the goblins on top of the trees when he remembered the task given to Ryan. He turned to look at the target that Ryan assigned to himself, only to see that it''s still merrily throwing rocks at Leo. However, from beneath the branches of the tree, Shesmu could see a shadowy figure.

    Shesmu smiled while looking as the shadow slowly crept towards the goblin who was still unaware. The cold glint of the sword flashed for a second and Ryan pounced on his target. Before it could even scream, he muffled its mouth and slashed its throat. He plunged his dagger deep in the goblin''s heart before activating his skill. Dark aura came out of the vile''s body and with it blood and gore.

    By this point, Shesmu''s suspicions already piled up to the roof. First, the insane mechanics and reaction time. Add to that the impeccable game knowledge and flexibility in his skills. There are no two ways about it, this guy is almost certainly from the future.

    Shesmu kept looking at Ryan, not knowing how to approach him. In the end, he just sighed and thought, I''ll talk to him later about this. For now, helping Leo takes the utmost priority.

    Shesmu looked at Leo once again. Using inspect, he found that he only had 40 Hp left. However, before Shesmu could even Dash in to help him, Leo used Empowering Slash and took down one of the goblins. Surprised by this turn of events, Shesmu stopped for a second before thinking, Well, he is Leo after all.

    "Leo, I''ll leave the ones in the ground to you. I''ll take care with Ryan of the ones in top, just don''t die," barked Shesmu. He then immediately ran towards one the surviving goblins on top of the tree before jumping. The branch on which the goblin stood was four meters above ground. No matter how one thought about it, they could never see a way where Shesmu could jump that distance. However, the moment Shesmu jumped was the moment he vanished. He appeared like a ghost in front of the poor goblin. Shesmu slashed at the chest of the goblin while his sword shone with a green aura.

    Shesmu then took hold of the branch with one hand and watched as the goblin fell down. He clicked his tongue and said, "Damnit, missed lethal!"

    Shesmu turned to look for his next target only to see the last two goblins running away. He couldn''t use Dash for another 8 seconds, and by that time they would have already ran away due to their superior agility. Tch, guess I can''t do anything about that.

    Now that his primary targets were gone, Shesmu decided to help out Leo with the goblin he was fighting against. However, before he could even stand up, Ryan appeared behind the goblin.

    Plunging his sword deep into the goblin''s heart, Ryan one-shotted the creature. Blood gushed out from the goblin''s wound painting Ryan''s face red, before it fell down.

    "Huff, thanks dude. You''re a lifesaver," Leo was not in his best shape. He had to tank both the attacks of the goblins he was fighting against and the rocks that were thrown at him. At this point, he barely had 15 HP left.

    "Don''t sweat it," Ryan said while smiling. He then asked, "Ehh, can you tell me how much exp you got? Like, we know that exp gets shared, but how much is actually spread?"

    Shesmu jumped off the branch he was holding on and walked towards the duo. "Yeah, that''s actually interesting," Shesmu said. "Help us better strategize."

    Leo checked his exp bar before replying, "I got 140 exp overall. Leveled up and almost halfway through level 2."

    "Oh, interesting. I got 190 exp. I''m guessing you got half of the exp from the kills. Interesting, so that means you got 30 exp from the kill I took. I see."

    Ryan scratched his chin while thinking. His head trying to find any way to abuse this system.

    "Wait, does the percentage change if the number of people in the party changes?"

    Ryan''s question made Shesmu chuckle. "Dude, this game is made by mega AI singularity gods, you think they would leave such an obvious exploit?"

    Ryan scratched his head in embarrassment before his expression lightened up¡ªan idea struck his mind.

    "Oh, it''s fine if the percentages do change. It''s still much better to be in a party than to be alone. Power leveling should be duper easy in this game."

    "Yeah, you''re right! We don''t really need to worry about who gets the last hit." Leo exclaimed. The passion of Ryan rubbed onto him and he became excited too.

    However, Shesmu decided to calm the duo down a little bit.

    "That''s cool and all, but first we need to rest a little bit so that Leo recovers his HP. The effect of bread."

    Leo was confused by Shesmu''s response, "The effect of bread? What''s that?"

    To his question, Shesmu quickly responded, "Bread regenerates your HP, but it takes a bit of time."

    "Oh, okay," Ryan responded. He then continued, "Well, we can''t do anything about then. Let''s just hide behind the trees and rest for now."

    Both Shesmu and Leo agreed with him, and thus the trio chose a tree to lean on. All of them took out a portion of their ration and started eating; Leo, because of his low Hp, and the other two because they were hungry.

    They kept on munching on their bread for a while before Shesmu finished and said, "Hey, Ryan, wanna check out the surroundings? We will just look for another group of goblins, so that once Leo is ready, we have a clear direction."

    "Sure, I have no problem. But what about you Leo, are you fine staying here alone for a bit?" Ryan asked, concerned for his friend.

    To this question, Leo just laughed, "Haha, what do you think I am? A baby who still needs his mom, just go, shoo, shoo."

    To this answer, Ryan just smiled in resignation.

    "Well, you heard the man. Let''s head out."

    Shesmu just nodded his head and stood up. The duo just moved out in an arbitrary direction while Shesmu was thinking, If there is anything that will blow his cover, it will be Armageddon, right? It''s the biggest event after all.

    Confirming his decision in his mind, Shesmu waited until Leo could no longer see them before he asked.

    "Hey Ryan," Shesmu then turned to face him before continuing, "Do you know about Armageddon?"

    Shesmu was expecting many faces. He expected him to laugh, or be confused, or keep a poker face. But the face Ryan made was one that he didn''t predict.

    Ryan looked a little bit confused first at Shesmu''s question before it turned into one of understanding.

    "Ah, Armageddon, you''re talking about the battle of good and evil before the day of judgment, right? Of course, I do. I have read the bible after all."

    Shesmu looked at Ryan for a second before his mind just went off, Huh?

 19 First Grind

    Leo was leaning on a tree, checking his character screen when he heard shuffling to his right. Looking at the direction of the noise, he found Shesmu and Ryan walking towards him.

    "Oh, did you find any goblins?" Leo stood up and asked.

    Ryan was first to respond, "Yeah, like a five-minute walk from here. But before that, sit down, we need to talk about some stuff." He gestured for Leo to sit back down while doing the same. Shesmu followed swiftly after, and leaned on the trunk of the tree. "So, we need to decide on stat allocation. Can you check your character screen for me?"

    "Sure," Leo responded. After a few seconds of tinkering, he continued, "I got 10 free points."

    "Yeah, it''s the same for all of us," Shesmu butted in. "Let''s see. We have a pretty standard class combination. Tank, consistent damage with me, and burst damage with Ryan."

    "Yeah," Ryan added. "Since my abilities scale with agility, for the most part, I should probably focus on that, right?"

    "You''re right, but if you put all of your points in agility, your normal attacks would do zero damage. Plus, you do have some scaling with strength, so you should add points in that too. Maybe 3:2 in favor of agility?"

    "Yeah, that works," Ryan responded.

    "So, for me, I probably should focus on vitality, right?" Leo asked.

    "Ehh, yeah, you''re the tank so you should have some vitality. But your skills right now are all offensive, so maybe you want some strength too? That way you don''t become just a meatshield."

    "Yeah, he is right," Ryan said. "At least that way, even if both I and Shesmu die, you still have a chance to win the fight."

    "Talking about team wipe, anyone knows how will we be able to communicate if we end up separated?" Shesmu asked.

    "Ehh, there is this messaging function that my instructor showed me before," answered Leo.

    "Yeah, he did message me earlier," Ryan added.

    "Oh, interesting," Shesmu responded absentmindedly. He scratched his forehead silently thinking before he continued, "I''m thinking of something else though. Demon Heart did have telepathic communication, there is no reason this game shouldn''t have one."

    "Oh, let''s check the command list then. If there is anything that''s gonna give us answers, it''s gonna be that, right?" suggested Ryan.

    "Yeah, you''re right. Let''s do that," added Leo.

    Shesmu issued the command in his mind and a list appeared in front of his eyes. The other two did the same. He kept mindlessly scrolling up and down until Ryan exclaimed.

    "Oh, I found it!"

    ''Here, do you hear me?'' Ryan''s voice resounded in Shesmu''s mind. He grinned in response. Knowing information from the future was one thing, but being able to convey it without arousing suspicion was a task on its own.

    ''Oh, nice,'' Shesmu responded. ''We found it at the same time.''

    Hearing Leo''s troubled tone, Ryan had a mischievous grin on his face. "Ohh? You want to know? Muahahaha! It is something you need to find by your¡ª"

    "Just think "party whisper"," Shesmu cut Ryan in the middle of his Machiavellical speech, leaving the latter''s words stuck in his mouth.

    "Hey, dude, you''re really not fun, you know that?"

    Ryan''s deflated response made both Leo and Shesmu laugh.

    "Hahaha! Dude, you should see your face when Shesmu cut you in. I can''t stop laughing."

    Leo''s statement confused Ryan even further. However, laughter is contagious and Ryan wasn''t immune. He soon joined them too.

    When they finally calmed down, Shesmu said, "Okay, so we now know how to distribute our points. Ryan 3:2 for agility and strength. Leo 3:2 for vitality and strength, I''ll go opposite of Ryan with 2 in agility and 3 in strength. Sounds good?"

    "Yeah, perfect," Ryan responded.

    Shesmu allocated his stats¡ªSix points for strength and four for agility. He waited for a few seconds before his teammates finished allocating. He then sat up and said, "Okay, since we''re done, you guys want to go hunt some more goblins?"

    "Do you even need to ask?" Ryan had a grin plastered all over his face. He couldn''t wait.

    "This time, leave some kills for me, eh?"

    "Don''t worry, we''ll let you have your part of the glory," Ryan answered.

    The trio went back to the forest. As they made their way through the trees, minutes passed by in a fly. Finally, they reached a clearing in which monsters resided.

    There were five level 3 goblins in the group. Shesmu quickly assessed the situation and barked out his orders.

    "Leo, you charge in first and hold their aggro. Ryan, wait in the sideline and look for an assassination. I will try to focus one goblin at a time to relieve the stress from Leo, be ready to strike!"

    "Understood!"

    The party immediately went into action with Leo taking the lead. He raised his sword and lunged towards the first goblin.

    The horde of viles were in no formations. They were scattered randomly, and when Leo attacked, they couldn''t respond properly. Before they could even stop the attacker, Leo activated Empowered Slash and swung his sword towards his victim.

    After Leo slashed the goblin''s chest, he backed off a little to avoid getting swarmed by the other monsters. With their high agility, the goblins were able to quickly catch up to him, however, using the range of his sword, Leo kept them at bay.

    The injured goblin was still struggling to get up on its feet, when a dagger, covered in darkness, came from behind and plunged deep inside its heart. Ryan then took out his weapon from the goblin''s corpse before going back to the shadow of the forest, waiting for his next opportunity.

    The four living goblins surrounded Leo from all four directions, waiting for a mistake from his part. They kept this status quo for two seconds before Shesmu came in. He ran towards the goblin right of Leo, attracting the attention of its comrades. The three other goblins wanted to help out their brethren, but the moment they did so Leo lunged towards the goblin in front of him and plunged his sword in its ribs. The goblin screamed in pain, stopping the other two from coming to the aid of the goblin Shesmu was facing.

    Shesmu noticed the indecisiveness of the two goblins and didn''t waste his chance. While the goblin in front of him was distracted by the cry of his comrade, Shesmu quickly ran towards it and performed Empowered Slash Cancel while aiming for its neck.

    Instinctively, the goblin raised its arms to guard its neck. Shesmu''s sword has cleanly cleaved through them, leaving the goblin crippled. With no way to attack but its teeth, the goblin was but a sheep ready to be slaughtered. It turned its back in an attempt to flee but Shesmu just thrust his sword into its back, ending its life.

    The two goblins that were indecisive just a moment ago seemed to have decided that their target should be Shesmu. They ran towards him but Shesmu didn''t pay them any attention. His focus was on the goblin Leo was fighting.

    The tip of a blade peeked out from the goblin''s stomach, while its eyes stared in shock. Behind it stood Ryan, who jumped at the opportunity the moment the goblin was struck by Leo. In its daze, it couldn''t sense the presence of death that was approaching from behind.

    Looking at this situation, Shesmu just sighed and smiled. After easily dodging the two goblins'' attacks, he told his teammate in a loud voice, "Guys! Let''s finish this quickly"

    "Yeah, it''s getting boring," Ryan responded.

    Hearing their confirmation, Shesmu thought for a second, Well, I haven''t tested this yet, but can I still grab and throw like before? Deciding that it wouldn''t do any harm to try, Shesmu feigned a slash before grabbing one of the goblins from his hand. He then tried to perform a back throw, but in the midst of his actions, Shesmu stopped. ''Wait, what do I do next?'' In Shesmu''s past life, he didn''t think about how to back throw when he did it, it just came out naturally without him having to think about it. Now that he lost his muscle memory, he could no longer do it.

    ''Well, it doesn''t matter. It was just for style points anyway, and I can always learn it again, it''s not that hard of a technique.''

    While Shesmu was consoling himself with his thoughts, the free goblin jumped towards him with a knife in its hand. Shesmu immediately reacted to this attack with a front kick to the face of the creature, stopping it mid-jump. He then used Empowered Slash to cut the hand of the goblin that he was still holding making it scream in pain.

    By this time, Ryan and Leo reached the scene and killed the crippled goblin in two hits. The other goblin suffered a similar fate.

    After the fight with the goblins, Leo was one step closer to level 3 while the other two already reached it.

    "Agh, those goblins are so stingy! The only thing they dropped are these lousy trash knives. They are even worse than our newbie sword!" Leo complained.

    "Well, it can''t be helped. The only thing we fought are normal monsters at or under level 5, we can''t expect to equip ourselves with the best gear from their drops," Ryan soothed Leo. He then looked at the scenery in front of him before checking his mini-map. He grinned then said, "Plus, shouldn''t you be excited? Gears, treasures, and bosses, all of those are in front of us. We have reached the red zone!"

 20 Red Zone

    The red zone didn''t look any different from the normal ones. The trees were still as tall as ever, blocking the moonlight from illuminating the way for any traveling party. However, Shesmu and his friends didn''t take any risk. Even though the scenery looked the same as before, they have been very careful with their steps, stopping every dozen of seconds to reassess their environment.

    If I remember right, somewhere around here there should be a waterfall; behind it the goblin den.

    Shesmu looked at the minimap and found that the waterfall was about thirty meters to their right.

    "There seems to be a waterfall nearby," Shesmu announced, "if there is anything my experience told me, it''s that these types of places are where hidden quests and treasures are located."

    "Seems fair," Ryan responded, while Leo nodded in agreement.

    The party, after deciding on their next destination, walked towards the direction of the waterfall.

    "But really, it''s already been five minutes and we still haven''t found any monster, isn''t that strange?" asked Leo.

    Ryan frowned and muttered, "you''re right. It makes no sense." He then thought for a couple more seconds before continuing, "maybe-maybe, there is a boss close to here or something?"

    Hearing his suggestion, Leo became excited, "A boss? Yeah, I know many games that did things like these. The area around the boss always lacks normal monsters."

    "Ohh, you''re right Leo. Many games have that feature, so as to not just swarm you with mobs then kill you with a boss. What do you think, Shesmu?"

    "Hmm, I guess? I mean, it could just be that there was a team before us that cleared the area. And the monsters disappeared after a while. Well, who knows?"

    However, while Shesmu''s mouth said one thing, his thoughts went in a different direction.

    This is the goblins'' territory, and it''s night so they are asleep in their den. Of course, there wouldn''t be any monsters going around.

    Shesmu then continued, "Well, who cares about that for now. We''re close to the waterfall so let''s up to the pace. Hopefully, we find some treasure chests and get some good gear, the durability of my sword is already down by half."

    Leo laughed at Shesmu''s comment and added, "Yeah, me too! Also, let''s wash our swords first before doing anything else. The handle is so sticky with goblin''s blood that I can barely hold my sword properly."

    "Yeah, we should do that too," Shesmu answered.

    The party went through the dark branches only to be greeted by a silvery light. The water of the small lake in front of them reflected the light of the moon.

    "Wow, this scenery is beautiful!" exclaimed Leo. The dark and gloomy forest took a toll on his mind, and that of his teammates too; now that they could finally see some light coupled with beautiful scenery too, their hearts were relieved.

    "Guys, I know that this is cool and all, but remember what we''re here for. Let''s start searching!"

    At Shesmu''s orders, the party started searching. They first checked the outskirts of the lake, each of them taking a position. Shesmu took north, Leo took west, and Ryan took east.

    They looked at every nook and cranny, next to every tree and in every hole, they could find. However, the party ended up empty-handed. After fifteen minutes, they finally decided to stop.

    "Well, we already checked the outskirts, so it''s time for a dive!" exclaimed Ryan, appearing happy. Shesmu made the both of them check out the surroundings first and foremost even though it was obvious that what they came here looking for was inside the lake.

    "Yeah, finally! Let''s go swimming-I mean searching!" declared Leo, correcting himself mid-sentence.

    Shesmu looked at the duo in an incredulous manner for a moment. In his past life, for the longest time, the only thing he knew was work and work and more work. When he was streaming his gameplay for other people to watch, he had to control his conduct to conserve the image of his team. When he wasn''t streaming, he had to train his fundamental techniques and familiarize with the new strategies. The only fun he had was the little bit of banter and challenges between him and his teammates. Now, staying with these two guys and experiencing the game in different more fun ways made Shesmu unwilling to go back to his previous lifestyle.

    With his internal introspection done, Shesmu just smiled at Leo and said.

    "Well, let''s not forget about our goal here. But having some fun along the way isn''t a problem."

    With this, as if they were beast unleashed, the duo immediately jumped into the lake.

    Splash!

    Without even taking off their clothes, they dived right into it.

    "Ah! This is great! The water is so cold!" exclaimed Leo.

    "Come in, Shesmu. We need to keep on searching for the treasures, right?" Ryan added, then he continued with a taunt, "Or, are you maybe afraid of the cold water? Is that why you have been delaying the search of the lake for so long?"

    The smug smile Ryan had on his face quickly annoyed Shesmu. Then, without any notice, Shesmu jumped into the water, still fully clad.

    "You little shit, just you wait!"

    Shesmu swam with all his might towards Ryan, intent on teaching him a lesson for mocking him.

    Seeing Shesmu coming at him with such ardor, Ryan immediately ran away.

    "It was just a prank bro! Please!"

    However, Shesmu didn''t have any of that. He kept on swimming, intent on catching Ryan no matter what.

    While Leo was laughing his lungs out on the sideline, the duo kept on swimming, one running away and the other fully intent on catching his prey. Their speed was about the same, so the battle became quickly one of endurance.

    It didn''t take more than two minutes for Ryan to not be able to keep up speed and be caught by Shesmu.

    After Shesmu caught Ryan, he looked at him for two seconds while thinking, Well, now that I caught him, what do I do now? He then kept looking at Ryan''s nervous eyes for another five seconds before just sighing and letting him free. Shesmu couldn''t bring himself to scold Ryan when he looked at him that way.

    "Hey Ryan, I have never asked you this, but how old are you?" asked Shesmu. The opportunity didn''t present itself before, but he was curious about Ryan''s age since he looked and sounded so young.

    "I''m 14, what about you?"

    "I''m 18," Shesmu answered, though I was 28 at some point.

    "Well, enough of all of this. Let''s get to searching, we cannot waste even more time."

    With this closing statement, the party went back to work. Everyone took one part of the small lake and started searching.

    Less than five minutes later, Leo came back to the surface and exclaimed, "Guys! I found something. Come!"

    "Oh, is it a treasure?" Ryan asked.

    To his question, Leo nodded. After that, everyone followed Leo''s lead and dived under the water. It didn''t take more than 10 seconds for the trio to reach the surface of the lake which was filled with algae. But between all of the green, a golden shine stood out. Leo spread the green plants, and a golden treasure chest had slowly shown itself.

 21 Crawling To The Den

    The trio kept looking at the treasure chest for a couple of seconds before Shesmu finally took the initiative. Well, they don''t even know how to open these chests so it''s better if I just do it, he thought.

    On the front of the chest, there was a button. Shesmu clicked it, and after four seconds of mechanical clicking, the chest opened. A brown light shone from inside the chest and a notification popped up for Shesmu.

    With his hands, Shesmu signaled for his teammate to go up. He decided that it''s better to reach the surface first and catch their breath before checking the notification.

    With his signal, the trio swam up to the surface of the lake.

    "Bwah, I was about to suffocate," exclaimed Leo. Both him and Ryan erratically breathed in and out.

    After waiting for them to catch their breath, Shesmu looked at Ryan and Leo before saying, "Ok, I got it."

    As if these words were a magical spell, the duo immediately became energetic again.

    "There better be some cool gear there, the devs are gonna hear it from me otherwise!"

    Leo nodded at Ryan''s declaration, and Shesmu just laughed before he checked his notifications.

    [Wood Chest Tier 1 Opened

    The rewards have been sent to your inventory.]

    Shesmu opened his inventory only to find three new items. There was one sword, ten potions, and ten pills. Shesmu took out these items from his inventory one by one so as to show them to his teammates. He then Inspected them.

    [Iron Sword

    Rarity: Iron

    Required Level: 1

    Weapon Level: 1

    Attack: 40]

    [Regenerative Health Potion

    Increases Health Point regeneration by 5 Hp/sec for one minute.]

    [Regenerative Energy Pills

    Increase Energy regeneration by 5 Energy/sec for one minute.]

    "Weapon level?" asked Leo confused. He then continued, "Do weapons level up in this game?"

    Ryan was also frowning in confusion when he answered, "I guess? But look at those potions, aren''t they broken? If we just hit and run while using them, we will never die."

    "I''m not sure about the weapon that level up and how that works, but I think we should decide on the distribution first, right?" suggested Shesmu.

    Ryan thought for a second then said, "Well, Leo is the tank for now, so he should get 4 potions, while we get 3 each. Since you''re the most proficient with the sword here, so you should take it, and I take 4 pills while you split the rest. Is that good?"

    "I think that''s fair. Shesmu has been taking most of the burden until now, so he deserves compensation," Leo responded.

    "Well, if it''s fine with you guys, then I will take the weapon. Hopefully, we find some other treasure chests to equip everyone."

    The distribution of the potions and pills was the same as before with Leo taking four Hp potions and Ryan four energy pills from every chest.

    After cleaning the place, Shesmu finally decided to check out what was behind the waterfall. Even though he knew that the goblin den was there, Shesmu deemed it necessary to clear out the area of every treasure chest possible.

    Shesmu swam towards the waterfall and looked behind it. He found that even though the entrance of the den was higher than the level of water, they could still reach it by using Dash.

    "Hey, guys! I just found something weird!" shouted Shesmu at the top of his lungs to get the attention of the duo.

    The duo swam towards him. When they got close to Shesmu, Ryan asked, "What is it? Another treasure?"

    "Even better," Shesmu responded. He then signaled them to come behind the waterfall before pointing towards the den and saying, "Come here and look at what I''ve found, seems like we''ll finally have some fun."

    The trio followed his lead then looked at where his finger pointed at.

    "Is that a cave? We should check it out, maybe we''ll find more treasures there!" exclaimed Leo.

    "Well, I''d love to too, but how are we supposed to climb that high?" asked Ryan, unwillingness clear in his eyes as he looked at the cave that he deemed impossible to reach.

    "Well, who said anything about climbing? We have the Dash skill, so let''s use that," suggested Shesmu.

    As if given a new life, Ryan''s voice became cheerful when he exclaimed, "How could I forget about that! Sorry guys, sometimes my brain just turns off."

    "Haha, don''t worry. It happens," consoled Leo.

    "Well, let''s get going guys. We can''t stay here all night," said Shesmu.

    The duo nodded at Shesmu''s words and in a count of three, they all dashed towards the entrance of the cave. Once their feet touched the ground, a message appeared in front of them.

    Ding!

    Congratulations on finding the level 5 dungeon: Goblin''s Den!

    For being the first party to find the dungeon, you are rewarded with 50 human reputation points!

    "Oh a dungeon, lucky!", exclaimed Leo before continuing, "and these rewards are sweet too!"

    "I was expecting to find a treasure here, but for it to be a dungeon, that''s even better!" added Ryan.

    Shesmu closed off the notifications before turning and looking at his teammates, "I think that we should probably stay quiet for now. We don''t know where the monsters are and we don''t want to get swarmed from the get-go."

    The duo nodded at Shesmu''s words before Leo responded with a lower voice, "Let''s go, guys, I''m already excited."

    Ryan and Shesmu smiled when hearing Leo''s quiet voice, before chuckling a little bit. This whole scenario left Leo confused, but he didn''t mind and just walked deeper into the cave.

    The trio didn''t have to walk for long before finding their first opponent. Barely fifteen seconds in, a group of five goblins ran towards them, dagger in hand.

    Each of the goblins was a level 5 one, and with small bodies, they could run one next to the other in this small cave with ease. Shesmu used Inspect on all of them and found that they had 200 Hp. While this number dwarfed his 160 Hp, it didn''t matter to Shesmu. After doing some calculation in his head, Shesmu thought, With my new sword, I can kill one of them in one combo.

    "Leo, Ryan, the usual!" Shesmu barked out.

    Understanding his meaning, Leo ran towards the goblin group while Ryan hid under the cover of the shadows waiting for the perfect opportunity.

    Shesmu followed Leo''s lead and ran towards the goblins. At this point, Leo was already their focus, so Shesmu just singled out the goblin at the left and swung his sword towards him.

    A flash of green light emanated and ridiculous numbers appeared above the flabbergasted goblin.

    120

    240

    [author] Remember to rate and add the story to your reading list here on SH.

 22 Like Butter

    Shesmu''s sword cut through the goblin''s neck like a knife through butter. Blood gushed out of the creature''s neck, dyeing Shesmu''s face red. However, even while being showered by blood, Shesmu didn''t flinch; he looked at the goblin straight in the eyes. The vile''s eyes that showed fear and surprise just a moment ago slowly became lifeless.

    For half a second, the goblins that were focused on Leo shifted their attention towards their dead comrade; this lapse of concentration spelled their doom.

    Empowered Thrust!

    Shesmu''s sword flashed green before he thrust at thin air.

    Dash.

    The goblins couldn''t understand why Shesmu would thrust in the open like that¡ªthey soon did. Shesmu vanished from his place and appeared in front of one of the goblins. His sword pierced through the creature''s neck, stunning it in place. Shesmu took out his sword from the goblin''s neck and the creature fell on the ground, blood gushing out of its wound.

    In less than a second, the group of five goblins turned into three. The remaining viles stepped back in fear. The human in front of them became a god of death in their eyes, ready to reap their lives.

    However, what they didn''t know was that there were two shinigamis on this battlefield. From the depths of the shadows, Ryan emerged. His dagger cloaked in an aura of death. He impaled the first goblin, puncturing its heart and reaching out to its chest.

    Noticing his presence, the two goblins left stepped away from him. However, there was no running away. Ryan disappeared from their vision only to appear behind their back. He slashed the first goblin''s neck before manhandling the second one. After taking control of the last goblin''s arms, he grabbed hold of his dagger and stabbed away at its chest.

    Looking at this scenery, Leo was flabbergasted. Ryan''s face was covered in blood, and his mad grin turned him into a demon.

    "Holy damn," Leo couldn''t help but blurt out. "You''re really a savage."

    Ryan blinked in confusion at Leo''s statement. He then touched his face only to be surprised by the blood on his fingers.

    "Haha," Shesmu couldn''t help but laugh. "Seems like you really got into it."

    Looking at Shesmu''s face, Leo couldn''t help but give him an unimpressed look. "Dawg, just look at yourself. Your whole body is covered in blood!"

    Shesmu looked surprised at first before looking down at his clothes. They were dyed red. It looked as if he just survived the purge.

    Looking at Shesmu''s surprised expression, Leo couldn''t help but sigh and shake his head in disappointment.

    "Really, you two. Are you sure you''re not twins or something? You act literally the same!"

    "Hahaha," Ryan laughed. "Well, we did both carry your ass through this run. So in that spirit, yes, we''re very similar."

    "Oy, that was a low blow!" Leo''s eyebrows scrunched.

    After saying those words, Ryan took the lead in exploring the cave. Looking at him from behind, both Leo and Shesmu sighed. They looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

    After exploring the cave for a few more minutes. They found another group of goblins. This time, they quickly took care of it, with Shesmu and Ryan, again, taking all the kills. They both leveled up, but Shesmu received another notification.

    Iron Sword Level Up!

    Oh, I forgot that low tier weapons leveled up this fast. Nice! His sword glowed golden for a few seconds before the light died down. He then used Inspect to check its new stats.

    Iron Sword

    Rarity: Iron

    Required Level: 1

    Weapon Level: 2

    Attack: 45

    Oh, a five damage increase. Not too shabby, Shesmu thought. Focusing back on his friends, Shesmu concluded that this was a good time to introduce them to the concept of leveling weapons.

    "Oh, wow. My weapon leveled up!" Shesmu exclaimed, faking excitement.

    "Wait, what?!" said Leo. "Weapons can level up?!!"

    "Okay. Now if that isn''t the dopest idea ever, then I don''t know what is," Ryan stated.

    "Yeah, but why do our own weapons don''t level up?" asked Leo.

    "Hmm, can you inspect your weapon and see if it has a weapon level?" Shesmu thought before asking.

    Leo unsheathed his sword and inspected it. After a few seconds, he said, "Oh, no, it doesn''t have it."

    "I guess that''s why," Shesmu stated.

    "Ohh, maybe it''s just the starting weapons that don''t have it. I can''t wait for one of these goblins to drop a good dagger for me to equip!"

    Ryan''s excitement was contagious, even Leo was getting fired up.

    "You''re right! Let''s continue hunting more goblins, I can''t wait for them to drop a shield and a sword for me."

    As such, the group continued their exploration through the goblin''s den. They encountered a few more squads which they killed easily before finding a worthy opponent. A vile, taller and bigger than any of the goblins they fought until now appeared. In its right hand it held a big butcher knife, on its left a small wooden shield.

    Inspecting it, Shesmu found out its name.

    Hobgoblin(Elite) Lv: 7

    HP: 1000/1000

    Behind the hobgoblin were several other smaller goblins¡ªall level five. Shesmu glanced at Ryan. Seeing the grin plastered all over his face, Shesmu couldn''t help but smile too. His golden eyes looked straight at the Elite monster, like a predator looking at its prey.

    Let''s have some fun.

    Shesmu unsheathed his sword and disappeared. He immediately dashed in front of one of the goblins and slashed diagonally across its body.

    Empowered Slash!

    Shesmu''s sword glinted with green aura as the slash connected, performing the cancel perfectly. Blood gushed out from the vile''s chest wound like a fountain. All the while, Shesmu stepped back so as to not be circled by the other goblins.

    While the monsters were focused on Shesmu, a shadow darted around in the corners, waiting for his opportunity to pounce. He didn''t have to wait for long. The moment one of the goblins broke out of formation and charged at Shesmu, Ryan appeared behind its back and claimed its life.

    Not wasting the opportunity, Leo charged at the hobgoblin so as to keep hold its aggro. Seeing him charging at it, the elite monster raised its knife to slash at him. However, Leo blocked the strike with his shield and counterattacked with a slash of his own.

    The moment Leo took hold of the Hobgoblin, Shesmu and Ryan burst into action. Shesmu ran towards the goblin and thrust, slashed, and struck at them with his sword. Meanwhile, Ryan dashed behind them, claiming the life of whoever Shesmu focused with his attacks.

    In no time, the small viles were all killed, leaving the hobgoblin alone. Shesmu and Ryan focused all their attacks on the latter so as to relieve the stress from Leo. After a couple of slashes, the elite monster, too, was on the floor, dead.

    Empowered Slash Level Up!

    Looking at his skill level up, Shesmu smiled. It did take a considerable amount of time for this skill to level up, but it finally did.

    Well, with this, the boss fight would be much easier.

 23 Den For Den

    After killing the hobgoblin, Shesmu looked at Ryan and said, "Hey, Ryan. Did it drop its shield and sword?"

    Ryan checked his inventory before answering, "Yeah, plus a bunch of pills."

    "Great," Shesmu responded. "With this shield, you''ll be able to at least tank the boss."

    "Yeah, you can count me on that."

    With those words from Leo, Ryan materialized both a shield and a sword and gave them to the latter

    Shesmu then looked at Leo and said, "I''ll take five energy pills, you take the rest. I already have a lot of HP potions. Hopefully next time a dagger drops, that way everyone''s equipment is Iron."

    Leo looked at the ten Hp potions on Shesmu''s hand before he laughed and said, "who cares about HP potions? Haha. I already have thirty of them, just split normally."

    "Well, if you say so. In any case, next weapon will be Ryan''s, no matter its rarity. We need everyone''s gear to be topnotch," Shesmu concluded, leaving no room for discussion.

    Both Leo and Ryan nodded at Shesmu''s words. With the equipment split, they decided to take some rest and allocate the points they got from leveling up.

    After a few minutes, the party continued the exploration of the den. As they did, they fought a pack of goblins after the next. Most of them dropped unranked weapons and some goblin fabric. However, occasionally, a rare item would appear

    Ryan was checking his inventory when he suddenly called out, "Hey guys. This goblin dropped something weird."

    "What? Is it a weapon or something?" Leo asked as he and Shesmu came over.

    Well, if normal mobs dropped something weird, then it must be Ether stones, Shesmu thought as he walked towards Ryan.

    When the two reached Ryan, the latter opened his inventory and took out an item. It was a blue stone that was slightly larger than a pebble. It gave off a cold glint, but other than that, it appeared normal.

    "Its description is really vague. It says that it''s an ether stone and that it drops from monsters with the ability to evolve, but it doesn''t say anything other than that." After inspecting the stone, Leo was left with more questions than answers.

    Listening to his friend''s confused words, Shesmu smiled and thought: Well, that''s to be expected. Hmm, maybe I should start buying them as soon as live servers are out.

    "Yeah, that doesn''t really say much," Ryan added. After thinking for a bit, he continued, "Well, it doesn''t really matter anyways. We can just save them up for now until we understand their use."

    "In any case, we can check the forums later after we finish this dungeon. Let''s continue with the looting first," Shesmu concluded.

    After a few minutes, the party finished checking on the loot and got some rest. Just as they were about to go out of the room and continue the exploration, Leo noticed that some of the goblins'' bodies disappeared.

    "Are you sure you aren''t imagining things¡ª" before Ryan could even finish his words, another goblin turned into particles and disappeared.

    Looking at the disappearing monsters, Shesmu saw this as an opportunity to explain another concept.

    "I guess that makes sense. If monsters were to be left alone after players kill them, everywhere would just reek of the smell of blood and death."

    "Well, enough of this. We need to finish this dungeon as fast as possible so that we can reach the tower fast. We don''t want to miss out on those rewards now, do we?" Shesmu added.

    Leo then took out the torch from the handle, and the trio went out of the room. They continued walking on the main path of the cave.

    "Hey, what do you think that room was?" Leo asked suddenly.

    "Hmm, maybe it was a sleeping room or something? Either way, I don''t think that there are that many goblins left in this dungeon. I don''t know how many we killed there, but it gotta be more than a couple of dozen. I got to level 7 and more than halfway to 8 just from them," Ryan answered.

    "Lucky you guys, I just got to level 6 from the hob," Leo pouted.

    Hearing him depressed, Shesmu couldn''t help but intervene, "Don''t worry Leo. On the road to the tower, I''ll let you have the last hits until you reach our level. We can''t leave you trailing behind for too long."

    When Leo listened to Shesmu''s suggestion, he couldn''t help but look and feel guilty, "you don''t need to do that, man. I don''t want to drag you guys down."

    "You won''t drag us down, don''t worry. But you will drag us down if you don''t get to our level by the time we reach the tower and there is some challenge there or something. It''s better this way," Shesmu argued.

    "If you say so. Well, I''ll be in your care," Leo concluded.

    The party then continued its journey until, suddenly, they saw a source of light deep into the cave. As the trio kept moving, the light grew closer and more apparent. In this part of the cave, there were torches on both sides of the cave illuminating the road.

    No longer needing another source of light, Leo turned off the torch and put it in his inventory. Moments after, Shesmu heard step sounds. Thinking it might be his own steps, he stopped and so did his teammates.

    "What''s going on, is there something in front of us?" asked Leo.

    "I think I heard stepping sounds," Shesmu answered.

    "I heard them too, three monsters are ahead of us," added Ryan.

    Hearing Ryan''s guess, Shesmu couldn''t help but raise his eyebrows. That''s¡­ an accurate judgment. Too accurate.

    Shesmu didn''t have the time to be lost on his thoughts, as the stepping sounds grew closer. The noise became clearer and louder until finally, the perpetrators showed themselves.

    Three monsters appeared, and when the party inspected them, both Ryan and Leo were shocked.

    Hobgoblin(Elite) Lv 7

    Hp: 1000/1000

    Hobgoblin(Elite) Lv 8

    Hp: 1200/1200

    Hobgoblin(Elite) Lv 7

    Hp: 1100/1100

 24 How To Gut A Goblin

    "Ryan, take on the right one. Leo, the left! Once one of them reaches lethal, everyone Dash into it and kill it! No hesitation!" Shesmu barked out.

    Leo and Ryan immediately sprung into action, listening to Shesmu''s orders. Ryan faced the hobgoblin on the right. Its frame was much shorter than its counterparts. It held a dagger in its green hand, waiting for any opportunity to strike. The hobgoblin Leo faced a two-handed sword and had 1200 Hp. From the looks of it, it was a tank variant.

    Shesmu marched towards the middle hobgoblin. It held a one-handed sword and had an Hp of 1100. From his earlier Inspect, he knew that it was a warrior variant. Shesmu ran towards it, sword in hand, and feigned a slash. The monster took the bait and activated a skill. Its sword glowed a bright shade of red before the goblin slashed diagonally at Shesmu. Expecting this outcome, Shesmu easily dodged the attack to the left and countered with a hit of his own.

    Empowered Slash!

    Shesmu activated his skill and used Empowered Slash Cancel, chipping away at the creature''s health. Then, with a swift motion, he roundhouse kicked the hobgoblin in the face. The vile took a few steps back, its hand grasping at its own bloody face. Shesmu continued his assault with a front kick that catapulted the creature into the air.

    Leo was in a standoff against his enemy when a hobgoblin came flying from the direction of Shesmu. The monster that Leo was facing turned into a cushion for his teammate to soften his landing. Both of them fell on the ground, leaving the green creatures at the mercy of Shesmu''s party.

    Surprised by this sudden outcome, Leo looked at Shesmu with his jaw hanging. "Damn, son! What was that?!"

    Before Shesmu could respond, Ryan teleported atop of the hobgoblins. His dagger covered in a dark aura as he plunged it deep into the warrior hobgoblin''s heart, instantly killing it.

    As Shesmu was about to congratulate Ryan for the kill, a dreadful feeling consumed him. His face turned livid. He turned to look at the assassin hobgoblin, only to not find anything.

    "Guys!¡ª"

    The moment Shesmu turned back to look at his teammates and warn them, he was stopped by the sight of a bloody Ryan. A dagger was poking out of his chest, baptized by the blood of his teammate. Shesmu kept looking at Ryan''s shocked face before focusing on the hob behind him. The creature had a cold look on its eyes as it made eye contact with Shesmu.

    No, it''s going for Leo next!

    "Leo, run!" Shesmu shouted out. And the moment he cried out was the moment the hobgoblin vanished, leaving a falling Ryan bleeding out on the ground. Without even thinking, Shesmu used Dash and teleported towards Leo. At the same exact moment, both Shesmu and the hobgoblin appeared, each of them had their weapon ready to strike.

    The creature felt a cold shiver down its spine. Its instinct screamed danger at it, and the monster immediately raised its arms to guard. Unfortunately, it was all too late.

    Plosh

    By the time the hobgoblin''s arms were raised halfway, Shesmu already plunged his sword deep into its heart. The light dimmed out of its eyes before the hobgoblin slowly fell on Shesmu''s shoulder and then on the ground.

    All this time, Leo couldn''t do anything but stand awestruck. He was about to say something before a noise behind him stopped him dead in his tracks.

    Both Shesmu and Leo looked at the source of the noise, only to see the tank hobgoblin slowly stand up. While it was getting up an unexpected movement drew everyone''s attention. Ryan who was supposed to be dead had his fingers twitch.

    Shesmu rejoiced at the survival of his friend and used Inspect on him to check his HP. Of his 184 max HP, only 24 remained.

    However, it wasn''t only Shesmu and Leo that noticed Ryan''s movement, the tank hobgoblin did too, and he was but a few steps away from Ryan.

    Understanding the severity of the situation, Shesmu immediately ordered, " Leo, teleport towards the hob!"

    Not even taking the time to respond to Shesmu''s command, Leo used Dash and appeared in front of the monster, blocking its way towards reaching Ryan.

    "Big dumb green man gotta kill me first if he wanna touch him," Leo taunted.

    While Leo was busy blocking the hobgoblin''s way, Shesmu ran towards Ryan before he rebuked him.

    "Idiot, why aren''t you using a potion already? You still have a bleed effect eating at your HP, don''t you?"

    Looking at Shesmu''s angry face, Ryan smiled, "you really know a lot of stuff, Shesmu, don''t you?" He asked before taking out an HP potion from his inventory and gulping it. "The way you move, the way you fight, even the decision you make. All of them are so good, and all of them are so unique in a sense."

    Listening to Ryan speak, Shesmu panicked for a second. Did he figure it out already? But I made sure not to do anything out of the ordinary, how did I mess up?

    "Shesmu. For some reason, your face, your name and everything you do feel so familiar. I don''t know why, but there is this feeling inside my heart that tells me we''re really similar," Ryan then stayed silent for a moment before continuing.

    "You asked me before how I was so good at this game even though I''m new. I have been thinking about it for a while, and even up to this point I don''t understand. The only thing I know is that this morning I had a strong headache, and after that, something inside me changed."

    After another bout of silence, Ryan continued his explanation, "It sounds weird, right? But I really can''t tell what happened. After that headache, my body started doing weird things all of his own. The food that I usually ate felt bland like I no longer like it, shows I never paid attention to suddenly became interesting. And, maybe most importantly, when I entered this game, something was wrong. It was too¡­ Familiar... Like a D¨¦j¨¤-vu, it felt as if I had played it for the longest time.

    "Hey, Shesmu, tell me, is it the same for you?" Ryan asked with an innocent smile.

    Shesmu''s heart clenched with every word coming out of Ryan''s mouth. So, you too have been stranded in this timeline with no choice of your own. Wasn''t it the case, Ryan?

    Shesmu didn''t know how to answer Ryan at all. Many emotions and thoughts intertwined in his brain. He was already almost certain that Ryan was a time traveler like him. The only question he had in mind was whether it was him that had sent the letter to Shesmu. But now, it was clear that this wasn''t the case.

    In the end, Shesmu just closed his eyes in resignation. He then opened them and smiled, "I''m not sure, Ryan. But if it is something that had to do with Ashes of Gods, then we will surely find out about it sooner or later."

    -----------

 25 Rage Fuels The World

    While Shesmu and Ryan were talking, Leo was standing alone, facing the hobgoblin on a one on one deathmatch. The monster would slash downwards from the left, and Leo would slash upwards from the right, parrying the attack.

    The same scenario kept playing out with different angles and different positions, but none of the contestants was able to hit the other. The monster was too slow, and Leo too unskilled to take advantage of openings.

    After ending his conversation with Ryan, Shesmu looked at Leo fighting. At first, he thought about helping him right away, but after looking at things for a bit, he found out that Leo was doing good for himself.

    Well, he should learn to defend himself on his own. Plus, if he is in any danger, I can always help him out. Unless he gets his head cleaved off, or heart destroyed, he won''t be one-shot.

    While Shesmu was watching Leo fight against the hobgoblin, Ryan stood up and sat down next to Shesmu.

    "Why aren''t you helping Leo?" Ryan asked. He obviously knew that Shesmu had a soft spot for Leo. The fact that he suggested leaving mob kills to him was a big indication.

    "I can''t always be there for him. Plus, wouldn''t he find it boring if I helped him every single time he is in trouble? It''s better for him to learn to fight alone now, than later when there are many more skills to be familiar with."

    "I guess that''s true," Ryan concluded. The wound on his chest by that point was already healed, no scar was left to be seen.

    Noticing that he was already fine, Shesmu asked Ryan, "By the way, how did you survive that stab to the chest? I thought that it pierced your heart when I saw it."

    "Ah, that. I''m not sure too. But just before I got hit, I felt a shiver down my spine and my body moved on its own. I guess that it was just a lucky dodge," Ryan explained.

    "I see," Shesmu responded.

    "Honestly, I was a bit surprised. I didn''t expect the hob to be that ruthless and fast."

    Hearing Ryan''s laments, Shesmu fell into deep thoughts too. Yeah, that hob was a bit too good. Maybe it was a special one? Reaching this conclusion, Shesmu looked at Ryan before asking.

    "Can you check your inventory? I have this suspicion that the hob was a special one. If so, it should drop an Ether stone like the last one."

    Ryan checked his inventory before responding.

    "Oh, you''re right. It did drop an Ether stone. It also dropped a blood dagger."

    "Oh, that''s neat!" Shesmu exclaimed. "Show me, that might be a pretty good weapon."

    "Sure." A dagger appeared in Ryan''s hand. Its hilt was red, and its blade sharp. "Here you go."

    Shesmu took the dagger from Ryan''s hand and inspected it.

    [Blood Dagger

    Rarity: Iron+

    Required Level: 7

    Weapon Level: 1

    Attack: 70]

    "Yeah, it''s an Iron+ dagger. Pretty powerful."

    "Now, with this, you think you can still beat me like last time?"

    Hearing Ryan''s taunts, Shesmu rolled his eyes. "It doesn''t matter how powerful the weapon is if it can''t touch its target."

    "Tsk, touch¨¦¡­"

    Both Ryan and Shesmu''s focus went back to the fight in front of them. As time went on, Leo became more and more familiar with the attacks of hobgoblin. He was now able to sneak a counter-attack or two before switching back to defense. As such, he slowly but surely chipped away at the monster''s health. That was until it reached the 20% mark.

    When that HP threshold was passed, a red aura of energy engulfed the monster''s body.

    After another missed hit by the hob, Leo tried to counter-attack as he did throughout the whole fight. But just as his sword was about to slash through the monster''s side, it countered with a slash of its own.

    Huh, so it has a berserk mode. Interesting. If this hob is already this strong, I wonder how much stronger the boss would be.

    Leo clutched at his shoulder. Even though he could barely feel any pain, the shock of receiving such a wound halted him mentally. Leo looked at his Hp only to find it down to 212. He used Inspect on the monster and was surprised to find that its health went up to 320.

    "Is that a lifesteal type monster?" Ryan asked.

    "Yeah, and a pretty powerful one at that. I think that rest time is over, this is not an opponent Leo can handle now. He just doesn''t have the damage needed."

    Saying these words, Shesmu stood up and unsheathed his sword. He took a few steps towards Leo and the hobgoblin before raising his sword and starting a swinging motion.

    By this point, Ryan had already seen this move multiple times. His eyes darted directly to where the monster stood, and immediately Shesmu appeared, his sword but inches away from berserker''s neck. As usual, his accuracy is topnotch, Ryan thought.

    The moment Shesmu appeared was the moment the hobgoblin saw its death. Shesmu didn''t give it any time to react, and immediately used Empowered Slash Cancel.

    165

    330

    Blood gushed out of the hobgoblin''s neck before it fell down, lifeless.

    At that moment, two notifications reached Shesmu. He opened them and two messages unfolded.

    [Congratulations, you leveled up!]

    [Weapon Level up!]

    After looking at the messages, Shesmu had decided to leave checking his weapon''s new stats and allocating his points until later. He still hadn''t allocated his points since reaching level five, so he needed to do that soon.

    "Huff, huff. What took you guys so long?" Leo asked.

    "Well, it seemed that you were having fun battling against the hob. Didn''t think it was appropriate to stop you in the middle of it," Shesmu answered.

    "It was fun. It''s just that when he went berserk, I thought I was a goner. Well, enough of that. What did it drop?" Leo asked, expectation clear in his voice. Until now, every hobgoblin dropped the weapon that it was using. Now that he defeated a sword wielder hobgoblin, his heart was pumping in excitement.

    "Aren''t you the happy little child," Ryan teased. "It would be funny if all of the hobs drop their weapon but this one. Now that would be hilarious."

    "Stop jinxing it, you idiot!"

    "Okay, okay, we can have this discussion later. Ryan just show us the drops already."

    Hearing Shesmu''s rebuttal, Ryan clicked his tongue before saying. "Fine, if you guys don''t wanna have fun then it''s your loss."

    Grumbling those last words, Ryan materialized a sword in his hand. Its hilt was red, much like Ryan''s own. Seeing this, Shesmu already had an idea about how strong it could be.

    [Blood Sword

    Rarity: Iron+

    Required Level: 7

    Weapon Level: 1

    Attack: 80]

    "Well, seems like you were lucky, Leo. The weapon you got is pretty good," Shesmu announced. He stopped as he remembered something, before he continued, "But it''s required Level is 7. Did you reach it from this fight?"

    "Ah, about that. Yeah, I barely reached level 7. Hobgoblins are really generous with their exp," Leo answered, feeling lucky that he reached level 7 and could equip his new sword.

    "Then that''s good. Well, since everything is ready, we can finally challenge the boss."

 26 Gobboss

    Before the party could make its way towards the boss, Shesmu had a sudden train of thought.

    "Hey Ryan, can you check your inventory to see if any sword dropped?"

    Ryan raised his eyebrows in confusion before a look of understanding dawned upon him. A grin then immediately stretched all over his face.

    "Huh, now wouldn''t be interesting if the only hob that didn''t drop anything was the warrior one?"

    Hearing Ryan''s taunts, Shesmu clicked his tongue and responded, "Can you just check your inventory, please? We still need to go fight the boss."

    "Yeah, I''m getting bored with this dungeon already. I want to get my tank skills fast!"

    Hearing Leo''s complaints, Shesmu smiled wryly. "Well, hopefully, you don''t have to wait long for that."

    While Leo and Shesmu talked, Ryan materialized a sword in his hand. After taking a look at it, he couldn''t stop laughing.

    "Hahahahaha! This is too good! Damn, this is just way too good. I can''t believe this, we all get an Iron+ weapon but you. Hahahahaha!"

    Listening to Ryan''s maniacal laughter, Shesmu was a bit confused. He used Inspect on the sword to check its stats.

    [Steel Sword

    Rarity: Iron

    Required Level: 7

    Weapon Level: 1

    Attack: 60]

    "Oh, it''s not too bad. Much better than my iron sword." He then looked at Ryan with a smug look on his face. "Plus, I''m not really sure that a ten damage difference would be able to make up the difference between us."

    Hearing Shesmu''s taunts, Ryan couldn''t help but frown in annoyance. "Hey! Just because you won against me once doesn''t mean you''re better than me! I want a rematch!"

    Looking at Shesmu and Ryan bantering, Leo couldn''t help but smile a bit. However, remembering Shesmu''s status as a legendary pro player, he couldn''t help but frown a little bit. That''s weird though, how can Ryan keep up with Shesmu? I know that he is good, but not THAT good.

    Shesmu interrupted Leo''s thoughts as he started talking. "Okay, let''s get going now."

    Hearing him talk, Leo snapped back to reality before following after his two teammates.

    As they made their way through the cave, they passed through numerous rooms. After looking at them, they found hundreds of goblins sleeping one next to the other. They were packed like sardines.

    Deciding that it was too much of a risk to fight them, the party just continued on without disturbing them. After long minutes of walking, the three finally reached the boss'' room.

    The gate of the boss'' room was ornamented with different carvings. Ogres, goblins, and monsters of all sorts were carved on the red doors.

    "Guess this is the boss room," Leo concluded.

    "Seems like it," Ryan added.

    Before opening the gates, Shesmu looked at his teammates and asked, "Did you guys allocate your stats yet?"

    "Ehh, not yet," Leo responded.

    "Well, let''s do that first before entering."

    After allocating his stats, Shesmu conjured up a strategy in his mind before making his speech.

    "Ok, so once I open the door, I want you to start chugging down on your potions. Even though your hp is full, inside the fight we won''t have much time to drink them so you want them running beforehand."

    Both Ryan and Leo nodded at Shesmu''s words. They summoned potions in their hands and readied them.

    "Other than that. Once we start fighting, I and Leo will rotate aggro. Ryan, make sure not to do too much damage until the boss''s aggro is firm on one of us, okay?"

    "Understood," Leo responded.

    "Sir, yes sir! We will follow captain''s orders to the end!"

    Ryan''s sarcasm made Leo a bit uncomfortable.

    "Ehh, Ryan. You can''t be rude like that."

    "Haha, don''t worry about it. It''s just banter," Shesmu said. He then turned his focus on Ryan, "Well, maybe if you actually won that duel I would have respected you as a captain, but now¡­"

    Shesmu''s words were like salt on an open wound.

    "Touch¨¦¡­ Dude, just you wait. Once this dungeon is done, I will challenge you immediately!"

    "Can''t wait for that to happen." Shesmu then focused back on the boss room''s gates. "Okay guys, I''m gonna open the room. Prepare yourself!"

    The two nodded in response.

    Shesmu pushed the red gates open. The open doors left way to a dark room¡ªa stark contrast with the torch-illuminated outside. However, once the party walked inside, light flared up from every corner of the room. Torches stationed in a meticulous order all around the walls of the boss chamber lit up in blue light.

    A throne stood at the back of the room, one made of bones and steel. A creature, green like a goblin but tall and big like an ogre sat on the throne. On side of the throne rested a one-handed sword. Its blade was dyed black as the night, while its handle was red like blood.

    Shesmu used Inspect on the monster in front of him.

    Goblord(Boss)

    HP: 10000/10000

    "Ten thousand HP?! How-how are we supposed to beat this thing?" Leo asked in fear and surprise.

    "Well, just don''t get hit," Shesmu teased. He then continued on a more serious note, "I''ll do most of the damage, so don''t worry about that. Just make sure to hold its attention and block its attacks. As for you, Ryan, I expect that you''ll be able to sneak in attacks without messing up its aggro, am I wrong?"

    "You already said that you don''t need to repeat it to me, you idiot. Just worry about dumbo Leo over there messing up the aggro or getting one shot. Well, that would be embarrassing."

    "Hey, the heck you mean. You think I''ll mess up the aggro? Just don''t go burst him with all of your skills like an idiot and everyone will be fine," Leo retorted.

    "Stop this you two. I and Leo will be in charge of juggling the aggro. When you want to burst, signal to me so that I take hold of the aggro. When everything is normal, Leo will be in charge of tanking the boss. Is that clear?"

    "All clear," Leo responded.

    "Roar!" The goblord stood from its throne and roared, showing its might to the impudent intruders. It raised its sword and charged towards the party.

    "Leo, chug on that potion and block its charge!" Shesmu ordered.

    Leo complied with the orders without hesitation. After chugging down the potion, he took hold of his sword with both hands. The blood sword was a two-handed weapon that emitted terrible might. It was dyed in red and leaked in a blood aura that merged with the surroundings.

    Leo ran at the boss and blocked its charge with his sword. After the first impact, Leo was pushed back by a few centimeters, but he was still able to hold on, locking the boss'' movement.

    However, while the boss was busy dealing with Leo, Shesmu appeared from behind his teammate. With one smooth swing, Shesmu used Empowered Slash Cancel and slashed through the goblord''s chest, dealing 540 damage.

    Shesmu''s strike surprised the goblord and left him open for other attacks. Leo didn''t waste this opportunity and used Empowered Slash, dealing 300 damage. And, as the cherry on top, Ryan appeared from behind the goblord and stabbed him on the back using Empowered Thrust, dealing 280 damage.

    After this flurry of attacks, the goblord became angry. The monster radiated a black and red aura before it gathered on his sword. He then slashed at the source of his anger and resentment: Shesmu.

 27 Second Phase

    Black and Red Energy gathered in the boss'' sword, clashing for dominance. The monster slashed at Shesmu with incredible momentum, leaving a black and red trail.

    Watching his impending doom, Shesmu thought, Empowered Thrust! Green light gathered on Shesmu''s sword before he thrust, his target: The boss'' sword. The two weapons clashed for a half a breath before the boss'' overwhelmed Shesmu''s sword. With barely any momentum wasted, the boss'' sword struck down like a meteorite, intending on decimating its target.

    The goblord''s weapon flew out of its hand. Shocked and surprised at this turn of event, the monster looked at Shesmu''s determined face. He should have been cleaved in half, but there he stood, triumphant while its sword spun in the air before plunging deep into the ground.

    Shesmu breathed a sigh of relief thinking, Good, deflected it. He then raised his sword and slashed at the boss before it could regain its balance and start attacking once again. As usual, Shesmu used Empowered Slash Cancel and targeted the goblord''s neck, activating a critical damage effect.

    270

    540

    With all the new upgrades to his equipment and stats, Shesmu''s critical hits did close to enough damage so as to two-shot a hobgoblin. When the two damage numbers appeared, even Shesmu''s teammates were surprised for half a second before attacking the boss once again.

    Even after receiving so much damage, the goblord only lost a quarter of its health. As if all the hits that it received were but ant bites, it stood up proudly with its chest puffed. It unsheathed its sword from the ground and looked at Shesmu with an intense glare¡ªIt was going to kill him.

    Black and red aura engulfed its body, but instead of gathering in its weapon like last time, it entered its skin and merged with the monster''s body. The goblord''s whole frame glowed faintly in both colors, emitting a lethal aura.

    Damn, that sword, it''s an evolved weapon.

    Shesmu gripped his sword even harder, a smile covering his face.

    "Everyone, beware! This might be a buff skill or something, it looks a little bit like the skill the tank hob used, so try not to get hit, understand?"

    "Understood!" Both Leo and Ryan replied.

    Well, that''s one thing. But now that all of our attack skills are on cooldown, we''re in trouble. And I''m still not used to this body goddammit. If it was before, even without a sword or a skill I would have toyed with this boss like it was nothing!

    In the face of this unnecessarily difficult situation, Shesmu''s frustration grew. However, the boss didn''t really care about his internal struggle and attacked him with no prior notice.

    Shesmu woke up from his daze and parried the goblord''s slash. The clash felt as if someone smashed him with a rock. Shesmu took two steps back and his hands felt numb after the exchange.

    In the meantime, Ryan circled around the boss from the shadows to prepare for an attack from behind. Once the opportunity showed itself, he lunged at it.

    While his two friends were fighting, Shesmu didn''t stand idle. Once Leo firmly took hold of the boss'' aggro, Shesmu kept going in and out slowly chipping away at the monster''s HP.

    After a couple of rounds of Shesmu going in and out, the boss slashed Leo before he could recover his stance. With one hit, the boss took half of Leo''s Hp and threw him off balance. The goblord then raised his sword a second time and slashed at Leo intending to finish him off.

    When Shesmu saw his friend getting hit, he immediately dove in and activated Empowered Thrust. Like last time, Shesmu targeted the boss'' sword. However, while the boss activated an attack skill in the last attempt, this time he did not.

    Shesmu''s sword hit the middle of the goblord''s blade, parrying the attack. Due to the recoil, the boss'' sword went up and the goblord lost his balance. Neither Shesmu nor Ryan missed this chance and dished out as much damage as possible. Shesmu slashed the goblord''s chest two times before ending his combo with an Empowered Slash Cancel to the neck, while Ryan kept stabbing and slashing at the monster in the back, his dagger cloaked in shadows.

    This flurry of attacks took out a good chunk of the boss'' Hp, reducing it to a quarter. The goblord finally restored his balance. The moment Ryan saw the boss take hold of itself was the moment he jumped back, not even risking being in his attack range.

    The goblord was enraged. It screamed and shouted to the heavens before kicking Shesmu''s guts with all its might. The kick sent him flying across the room, back against the floor.

    "Huff, puff"

    Shesmu stood up slowly, using his sword as a support. He checked his Hp at the left corner of his vision and saw that he lost 100 health. He then looked at the boss and was surprised by what he saw.

    The goblord stood proudly with energy exceeding by multiple times whatever he showed before, bursting out his whole being. Dark and Red aura intertwined, with the color of blood being the dominant one.

    So, it''s a berserker too. This is bad, if Ryan and Leo stay next to him, they''ll just die and gift him HP!

    Once Shesmu considered this scenario, he immediately ordered, "Leo! Ryan! Get the heck out of there!"

    Not wasting even half a second, both Leo and Ryan teleported out of the goblord''s vicinity.

    Now that his teammates were safe, Shesmu inspected the boss. The goblord barely had 2000 HP left. After doing some mental calculations, Shesmu thought: If I activate a fatal hit, I can kill it!

    The boss raised its sword nonchalantly and aimed with its tip at Shesmu. The overflowing energy that was coming out of its body gathered at the tip of its weapon. Two dots of black and red energy spun in a circle and grew to the size of a tennis ball.

    The ball of energy hovered in the air for a few seconds as if to mock Shesmu, before pouncing like a cheetah.

    The ball of death flew with incredible momentum towards Shesmu. In less than half a breath, it reached its target. The goblord smirked, thinking that his enemy was already dead.

    The ball of energy stood in front of Shesmu, almost touching his nose. However, it couldn''t. Shesmu flickered out of existence, dodging the ball of red and black. The wall behind him exploded in a burst of flame.

    Leo could barely make out what happened before his eyes darted towards the boss. He couldn''t believe them. In its spot, three people stood. Shesmu with his sword, clad in a green aura, plunged deep into the creature''s neck. Ryan, his dagger, cloaked in shadows, puncturing the boss'' heart. And finally, the goblord, proud as it was¡ªdead.

 28 Preemptive Strike

    The Goblord stood upright, with its eyes closed and chest puffed. Neither the sword piercing its neck nor the dagger puncturing its heart took away an ounce of its majesty. However, death spares no one. After a few seconds, both Shesmu and Ryan took out their weapons and sheathed them. The Goblord had fallen.

    With the Goblord''s death came the jingly sound of notifications. Shesmu clicked on the plus sign and a bunch of messages appeared.

    [Congratulations, you leveled up!

    Weapon Level up!

    Weapon Level up!

    Empowered Slash Level up!

    Empowered Thrust Level up!]

    Well, that took a while. They finally reached level 3.

    The boss was generous with its exp. After reaching level nine, Shesmu looked at the exp bar under his HP and found that he was 57% of the way to the next level.

    After a few seconds of the boss'' death, a blue portal appeared in front of the throne. However, neither Leo nor Ryan seemed to be fazed by its appearance.

    "Wow, just wow!" Leo exclaimed, "You guys, just how did you do that?! It''s as if you were on sync or something."

    "Hahaha! Yes! Praise me more! My speed is impeccable, my timing is perfect. Only I could produce such an outworldly performance!"

    Shesmu just shook his head at Ryan''s antics, smiling. "So, did your weapon level up?" Shesmu asked.

    Ryan hesitated for a second before replying in a more serious tone.

    "Oh, yeah, they did. Though it really doesn''t matter that much. We''re going through levels and content so fast that by the time a weapon levels up, another with much better stats drop."

    Leon nodded at Ryan''s words. "Yeah, I''m guessing that this mechanic would be useful later on when leveling up is no longer as easy."

    "Yeah, that''s probably true," Shesmu responded.

    "Let''s forget that for now. We need to look at the loot! The loot!!"

    Ryan''s excited shouts made Leo excited as well.

    "Yeah, that boss was so damn hard. If it drops trash, I would be so mad!"

    "Stop jinxing it, you idiot," Ryan rebutted Leo while checking his inventory.

    "Haha, sorry sorry."

    Ryan looked at his inventory for a few seconds before his face turned into one of pure horror.

    Seeing him act this way, Leo started stressing out a bit. "Ehh, Ryan? Is something the matter? Why are you so shocked?"

    By this point, even Shesmu was interested in what Ryan saw that would make him look that way. Even with everything that happened until now, there wasn''t even one instance where Ryan showed such a face.

    "What the hell is this?!!" He finally screamed.

    By this point, both Leo and Shesmu were on the edge. They both gulped simultaneously.

    "This weapon¡­ It''s a gold tier sword!"

    Hearing him say those fabled two words, Leo''s jaws dropped.

    "What?!!"

    "Yeah, let me show you."

    Ryan''s hand shone with blinding golden light, Shesmu covered his eyes in response. By the time he opened them an amber blade appeared on Ryan''s hand.

    Looking at the gold-ranked sword, Leo exclaimed, "This is so fucking sick, man! Dude! With this, we''ll just breeze through content like it''s child play!"

    "You''re damn fucking right!" Ryan said. "Let''s check the stats first though, they probably are out of this fucking world."

    While Ryan was talking, Shesmu used Inspect on the weapon. Even he was curious about the stats of this little gem.

    [Cambion Blade

    Rarity: Gold+

    Required Level: 10

    Weapon Level: 1

    Attack: 250

    Skills:

    Demon Ki(Passive): Add Dark attribute to ki and increase the power of ki based skill by 20%.

    Demon Slash: Long-range crescent-shaped slash. Base Damage: 500 +180% attack damage.]

    Looking at the stats, Shesmu couldn''t help but chuckle. It''s official, this game is brain-damaged.

    "Hmm, can someone explain to me one thing? Was O9 fucking drunk when they made this fucking game? This isn''t a sword, this is Jesus H. Christ''s holy stick!"

    Leo waited for Ryan to finish his rant before adding in. "Holy fucks in heavens, Jesus would be proud if they had a stick this big. This beyond just broken"

    Hearing Ryan''s and Leo''s rant, Shesmu couldn''t help but laugh. "Damnit guys, this is too fucking funny. Holy shit!"

    Ryan and Leo joined Shesmu in his laughter.

    "Oh well, O9 might be high on some weed, but at least we''re the one benefiting."

    "Yeah, this time. Wait until we reach the main city and everyone is styling on our asses with their divine equipment. Oh, I have a boot that lets me teleport and boosts my attack speed by 1000%. Oh, I have a sword that can cut through space and time and disconnects you with a slash. Fuck me sideways!"

    Leo''s rant made Ryan laugh his ass off. "Hahahaha, damn dude. This is too funny! Honestly, I wouldn''t even be mad if some weird crap like that happened."

    "Dammit guys, let''s get serious here, okay?"

    Hearing Shesmu''s intervention, Ryan grinned like a maniac.

    "Oh, Mr. Broody McBrood doesn''t wanna have fun? Come on, give me a smile like the one you showed before." Ryan stretched Shesmu''s cheeks to make his lips smile. "Here, much better!"

    "You little shit." With one pinch to the forehead, Shesmu pushed Ryan away from his face.

    "Haha, okay okay, I''ll stop teasing you. We need to decide on who is gonna take this sword though. I can''t since I''m an assassin."

    "Do you still need to ask about that?" Leo asked. "I would be beyond embarrassed if I took the sword. Just give it to Shesmu already, goddamnit."

    Shesmu was embarrassed. Hearing praise from someone he considered almost his equal just a few days ago didn''t sit right with him. However, he couldn''t say anything to retort back. The facts were clear.

    "Damnit, okay I''ll take this sword, but whatever drops next is yours, the both of you."

    "Deal," Ryan responded.

    "Yeah, let''s do that," Leo added.

    "Okay, if we no longer have anything to do here, maybe we should exit the dungeon."

    "Yeah, let''s do that," Leo answered Shesmu.

    The party then made its way towards a blue portal that stood before the throne. No one had seen it appear, and it certainly didn''t exist as the party was fighting the boss. However, no one paid it any heed. They just walked toward before Shesmu touched it.

    [Congratulations, your party was the first in the world to conquer the dungeon: Goblin''s Den!

    Please choose a party name!]

    Shesmu thought for a second before asking Leo and Ryan for their opinion.

    "Hey guys, we''re the first to clear this dungeon. It wants us to choose a party name, what do you think?"

    Leo thought for a second before blurting out, "Blazing Blades?"

    "Lame," Ryan groaned.

    "Hey, if you have a better name, say it!" Leo retorted.

    "Wait a minute, I''m thinking," Ryan pondered for a second before adding, "Black Moon."

    When Shesmu heard this name, he was surprised. Black Moon, huh? Interesting name choice.

    "Black Moon, I like that. Sure, I can go with that."

    Seeing that everyone agreed on the same name, Shesmu concluded, "So Black Moon it is." He then thought, Team name is Black Moon.

    After he confirmed the name, multiple notifications flooded Shesmu.

    [Congratulations on being the first party to conquer Goblin''s Den in Pliyx Stal Kingdom.

    Congratulations on being the first party to conquer Goblin''s Den in the world.

    Congratulations on being the second party to conquer a dungeon in Pliyx Stal Kingdom.

    Congratulations on being the tenth party to conquer a dungeon in the world.]

    Attached to these messages was a list of rewards, but Shesmu didn''t care at all about that. He immediately thought, Show dungeon ranking for Pliyx Stal Kingdom. In front of Shesmu, a list containing two teams appeared.

    1-Dawn''s Resonance

    2-Black Moon

    Looking at the name plastered in gold at the top of the ranking, Shesmu''s eyes turned cold. His heart flared with the wrath of a dragon. Dawn''s Resonance. Just wait for me, I''ll be coming for you.

 29 Moonlit Confrontation

    After a few seconds of the ranking interface appearing, Shesmu and his friends were teleported out of the Goblin''s Den. However, the scenery they expected wasn''t there. Rather than the lake next to the waterfall, they found themselves in a clearing in the middle of the forest.

    Under the moonlight, the party sat and discussed.

    "So, all of you guys heard those notifications? We''re top 10 in the world! This is insane!" Leo exclaimed.

    "We sure are," Ryan added. "Haha, I can already see the titles of the videos about us! We''ll be so famous! Muwahahaha!"

    Seeing them being so excited, Shesmu couldn''t help but smile. Well, being top 10 in dungeon ranking isn''t really that good, but I guess I can be happy about it.

    There are so many rankings in Ashes of Gods, so many tournaments, so many dungeons, and so many events. The number of times that Shesmu ranked first, with his team or solo, was uncountable. After a while, it became so dull that getting first place in a local tournament felt like eating an appetizer, just part of the course.

    However, this was the first event in this timeline Shesmu ever ranked in. For some reason, it felt good. Shesmu hasn''t experienced something like this since the last time he won the world championship.

    Damnit.

    The world championship trail of thought led Shesmu to some painful memories. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. Calm down Shesmu, there is still hope.

    Shesmu took a deep breath before focusing on his teammates.

    "This is just the first of many wins to come, so don''t feel too excited yet, save that for the big stages. Anyway, we should check out what we got first."

    Shesmu opened his notifications and was flooded again with messages. Skimming over all of them, Shesmu found that he got 10 gold overall, 100 magic stones, 2000 Human reputation points, and a title.

    [New Title Acquired | Goblin Slayer I

    Goblin Slayer I

    Title acquired after killing 1000 goblins or being the first to conquer a goblin related dungeon.

    10% Bonus damage against goblin type creatures.

    Upgradable]

    This title is pretty good. Goblin evolution goes pretty high in levels, so this title should be useful for a while. Guess I should consider grinding out goblins some more in the future.

    "Guys, what did you get?" Shesmu asked.

    "Ten gold, a hundred of those weird ether stones, two thousand reputations, and two titles. The last are pretty sick actually?" Ryan stated.

    "Oh, two titles?"

    "Yeah, you didn''t get them, Shes?" Leo asked.

    "Nah, I only got one. Goblin Slayer."

    "Oh, we got that and a Reputable Citizen title. It was from the reputation points that we got if I understood the text well," explained Ryan.

    Oh, so it''s because of the noble title. I see.

    "You have a noble title? How?!" asked Leo in shock.

    "I think it has to do with my eyes. From what I read, it seems like nobles in this country are born with golden eyes. Don''t really understand why O9 would do such a weird thing, but not going to complain," explained Shesmu.

    "Wow, that''s such a stupid system," complained Ryan.

    You bet it is. Even at this point I''m still weirded out.

    "Like, what game rewards you for basically doing nothing. It''s so stupid," Ryan continued.

    "Yeah, I''m with Ryan on this one, Shes. But hey, at least now we know it. In the live game, we''re gonna abuse the heck out of that, haha!" laughed Leo.

    "Sure, I don''t see any problem with that. Just know that you get double the infamy if you choose to be a noble though," warned Shesmu.

    "Ah, about that. Yeah, I''m not gonna be a red player. Unless Omega9 trolls too hard and doesn''t even give us an Arena where we could pvp, I see no point in pking."

    "Same as Leo. Don''t really enjoy pking that much, unless someone annoys me real hard."

    "Well, if you guys think that way, then it''s all fine," Shesmu concluded.

    "Now, let''s grind a bit so that I reach level 10. That way I get to equip the Cambion Blade."

    "Oh, before that," Ryan grinned as he looked at Shesmu. "I think you''re forgetting something. A little pinky promise that we made before, remember? Something about a duel."

    Leo shivered looking at Ryan''s face. It felt a dark, cold aura was emanating from him. "Ryan, are you okay? You''re too scary¡­"

    Shesmu smiled in response to Ryan and unsheathed his sword. "Sure, come on in. I want to see if this fight would be any different from the last one."

    Seeing both of his friends getting a tad bit hyped up, Leo backed out of the fight and gave them space.

    "I''ll be here watching you as you do your thing. Just remember to leave me out of it."

    Ryan and Shesmu were both too focused to even hear him. The moment Leo backed out, they lunged at each other like tigers.

    Shesmu thrust his sword in the direction of Ryan, forcing the latter to sidestep. Shesmu followed his thrust with a horizontal slash to the left, making Ryan duck to avoid his blade.

    Noticing the opening, Ryan pounced at Shesmu. With Ryan so close, Shesmu couldn''t utilize his sword properly.

    Ploosh

    Ryan''s dagger stabbed deep into Shesmu''s abdomen. Blood trickled down from his wound and onto the blade. However, the moment Ryan was about to take off his dagger, Shesmu grabbed his arm.

    "Got you," Shesmu said with a smile.

    His blade shone with a green light as he thrust it towards Ryan''s face. The latter immediately disappeared. Shesmu''s grin turned even wider.

    Dash

    Shesmu appeared in the sky. Ryan stood below him, about to slash a Shesmu that was no longer there. He grabbed Ryan by the collar, throwing him off balance, before thrusting his sword towards his face.

    Ryan closed his eyes by reflex. However, the pain never came. He slowly opened his eyes only to be welcomed by the tip of Shesmu''s sword. It still glowed with a green aura. Somehow, from this angle, the green energy looked like wisps of flames to Ryan¡ªflames of hell.

    "Woah!"

    Leo''s exclamation signaled the end of the fight.

    "Tch, dammit. I did even worse than last time."

    Shesmu stretched his hand for Ryan to take. The latter hesitated a bit before taking it.

    "Thanks," he murmured.

    "You know why you lost this time?"

    Ryan didn''t respond.

    "It''s because you lack experience. You have good reflexes, battle instincts, and insane athleticism overall. However, you jump at any opening like a monkey, without asking yourself first; "Is this a trap?""

    "Let''s have a rematch," Ryan said with a determined expression in his face.

    "No," Shesmu flatly replied. "There is no meaning to our fights right now."

    "What do you mean there is no meaning to our fights?" Ryan retorted. "The meaning is in the fight itself!"

    "Ehh, guys, can you calm down? It''s just a game." Seeing the situation degenerate, Leo tried to calm it down.

    "Leo, please, I''m talking with Shes here."

    "Ryan," Shesmu cut in. "If you want to fight, fine. However, before that, let''s finish this tutorial first. Deal?"

    Ryan stayed silent for a few seconds before finally succumbing in. "Okay, deal."

    "Great!" Leo exclaimed. "Now that the drama is finally done, let''s get back to grinding, okay?"

 30 Chrome Armors And Foxes On Fire

    With the fight between Shemsu and Ryan finally done, the party continued on with their grind. With their weapon enhanced, the level 5 and 6 goblins were a piece of cake. Seeing that grinding would be too inefficient if they continued farming in these low-level regions, they dived deeper into the forest.

    After a few minutes of running, they entered the fox territory.

    Fox

    HP: 300/300

    The foxes that the trio encountered were level 7 and 8. It took around half an hour for Shesmu to make that final step from level 9 to 10.

    After looting the foxes for their pelt, Shesmu took out the Cambion Blade and equipped it. Dark energy flowed from the weapon to Shesmu''s body. It gathered in his stomach, and Shesmu could feel it changing something inside him.

    A dark aura surrounded Shesmu''s body for a few second before it dissipated. However, Shesmu knew that it was only hiding in his body, waiting for the moment he summons it.

    After equipping the sword, the party continued on with their journey towards the tower.

    It was midnight when the party finally stopped. In the distance, one could hear the sound of roaring and howling intertwining together. A battle was taking place.

    Shesmu looked at his mini map and saw that they were at the edge of the red zone. He looked in front of him and a scene straight out of fantasy unfolded.

    Two camps, two armies split the forest. On the right, there were the goblins sharpening their weapons. A quick inspect told you their level, it was an astonishing 15. In the middle of their camp stood a green humanoid monster, fully clad with black and red armor. It was a Goblin General, and its level was 25.

    In the right stood the foxes, baring their claws. Their levels didn''t lose out to the goblins one bit, ranging from 14 to 17. In their midst stood a magnificent large Firefox. Its paws and sides were crimson red, while its fur was snow white. A quick Inspect told tales about its strength. It was a Fox king, a level 30 monster that evolved into a firefox.

    The party hid under the bushes afraid to make any sound. Every now and then Leo would raise his head to peek from between the bushes and go back to report.

    "None of them made a move until now. Just what are they waiting for? We''ve been sitting here for 15 minutes already and they still haven''t even gotten close to each other yet."

    "Yeah, I''m with Leo on this one," Ryan added. "In the first place, what are we even sitting here waiting for?"

    "I mean, since we got to see such a rare sight, I thought that it would be a shame to miss the opportunity to be the third dog. But from the looks of it, this is going to take all night. It''s a shame that we miss out on the loot of that firefox. Guess we have no choice."

    Really, this forest is full of surprises. To think that a rare variant such as firefox existed here. If I had a firefox pet, even without me doing anything, I would still be one of the strongest in this game, or at least this country until level 40.

    Shesmu was deep in thought when he suddenly remembered something. Wait, if I remember right, didn''t that guy tame his firefox in the Forest of Beginning. In the first place, firefoxes are very rare. At the very least, there shouldn''t be more than one Forest of Beginning hosting them. So, it had to have had something to do with that big guy over there. Thinking these words, Shesmu looked back at the battlefield in the distance. Maybe it was its child?

    War cries emanated from the distance, howls and roars permeated the air. Shesmu slowed down his steps to a halt and turned to look at the direction of the war. Well, no matter what happens there, it''s all going to reset once the live game goes up. Once that happens, I''ll go and get my share of the pie. Sorry about that, Shaman.

    "Hey Shes, we need to up the pace, else we''ll be even later than we already are," Leo reminded.

    "Yeah, let''s get going."

    Shesmu then looked at the tower in the distance illuminated by the moonlight, and glimpsed at his minimap. They were about two kilometers away from their destination, and the way was filled with danger.

    Clashing metal and anguished wails orchestrated a requiem of death. Goblins, fully clad in metal armor, clashed swords with the paws of their foes. Foxes lunged at goblins and bit their throats off.

    Blood painted the battlefield red and the gore decorated it. In the midst of this armageddon, the goblin general was howling out orders.

    "First battalion, flank from the right! Second battalion, to the left! Third battalion, retreat!"

    The General was one of the few goblins that could speak the human language. However, even though the other goblins couldn''t speak it, they were able to understand.

    The Goblin General stood proudly, with a red helmet covering his face, and black and red plate armor protecting his body. The metal shined in the middle of the night, showing that his set of equipment was new. It was specifically made for him, one of the ten generals of the goblin clan.

    The casualties of the war were even on both sides, and this bugged the General a lot. His grunt facial expression showed his worry and impatience. He kept tapping the ground with his right foot, waiting for something.

    "General Chrome, the trap is ready."

    A goblin soldier came in and stood on one knee before reporting to the Goblin General.

    Chrome, once he heard these news stopped tapping the ground with his foot. His worried expression turned immediately into an excited one.

    "Good," Chrome responded. His smile turned into a malevolent grin before he continued, "With this, the king of the foxes is dead."

    While the battle between the two armies was raging, Shesmu and his party were making their way to the tower.

    Wolf

    Hp: 700/700

    "Ryan, take care of the wolves at the left. Leo, the right. I will take care of the middle one then rotate."

    The duo nodded, accepting Shesmu''s orders. The party spread out, each of them heading towards his target.

    Leo was the first to reach the pack of wolves, making him their biggest focus. However, before the whole pack could aggro to him, Ryan came from the side and stabbed two wolves successfully, stopping them dead in their tracks.

    With perfect synchronization, the wolves have been divided between the members of the party. Ryan took hold of the monsters on the left, evasion tanking them using his superior reflexes and high agility. Leo kept hold of the aggro of the wolves at the right by attacking them and blocking their strikes using his new swords, damping their damage.

    Ryan is one thing, but Leo really became better after all the fights he has been a part of. As expected, you only become better through trial of fire and blood.

    Shesmu unsheathed his sword from his back and looked at the wolf in front of him. It was confused on who to attack between Leo and Ryan. Well, let''s test out the power of this Cambione Blade. With these thoughts, Shesmu raised his weapon and performed an Empowered Slash Cancel.

    400

    702

    Overkill was an understatement. With the passive of the Cambione Blade, Demon Ki, Shesmu''s Empowered Slash was enhanced further. The poor wolf had his head decapitated with one strike.

    After dealing with his target, Shesmu turned to look left. Ryan was able to effortlessly handle his opponents. He would slip in a stab, and before the wolf would even raise his paw, Ryan would dodge the attack. Good, he is starting to learn. Predicting attacks is much more useful than just reacting to them.

    Deciding that Ryan wouldn''t need his help any time soon, Shesmu decided to focus on Leo. While the latter was holding his ground against his enemies, countering with a slash or two of his own after any intense barrage of hits, his health was still being chipped at little by little. He was already down a quarter of his HP.

    Shesmu looked at the situation and decided that it was as good of a time as any to test his other skill that came with the Cambion Blade: Demon''s Slash. Shesmu activated his skill and raised his sword. Energy flowed from inside his stomach to the blade of his sword. The blade took a dark shade and glinted under the moonlight.

    Shesmu slashed at the air and a black crescent was formed, heading directly towards the two wolves Leo was facing.

    1464

    1464

    The black crescent of energy went through the two monsters and split them in half. Blood and gore littered the ground and painted Leo''s face red. The latter just cleaned off his face with minimum disgust.

    "Thanks for the help, you saved me there."

    "You''re welcome. But forget that, let''s help Ryan."

    As if they practiced this scene multiple times, both Leo and Shesmu used Dash at the same time. Each of them appeared behind one of the wolves Ryan was fighting. With one slash to the neck, both monsters were decapitated.

 31 Night-time Scouting

    After killing the pack of wolves, the party decided to rest and regen their health.

    "But man, your sword is really overpowered, Shesmu," commented Leo while drinking his pots.

    "Yeah. The enhanced damage is one thing, but that energy slash. You killed two wolves in one hit from a distance, how broken is that?!" Ryan added.

    "Well, it is a Gold+ rarity weapon after all. Thinking about it now, if that goblord was able to land one ki empowered attack on us there, we would probably have been one shot. Plus, there was also that black and red energy orb thing. That was scary," reminisced Shesmu.

    "Anyway, how far are you guys from level 10?"

    "I''m level 9, 80% of the way to 10," responded Ryan.

    "I''m also level 9, though I''m only halfway to level 10," followed Leo.

    "Okay then, we should grind a bit more before going to the tower then."

    Well, if it''s about grinding, then maybe we should try and search for a dungeon. Since we''re in a wolves area, there must be a wolf dungeon here.

    Everything made perfect sense in Shesmu''s head. The only downside was that unlike the goblin dungeon, Shesmu had no idea where the wolf''s is. Thus, the only way was to search for it in the traditional way. When Shesmu''s thoughts reached that far, he looked at both Leo and Ryan.

    "Do you guys want to do another dungeon?"

    "What kind of question is that? Of course, we do," responded Ryan. "But where are we gonna find one?"

    "Yeah, the last one was hidden behind a waterfall. We were lucky enough to find it, but I don''t think that the lady will smile on us again," added Leo.

    "Well, who knows? Let''s just try our luck and if we don''t find it''s all good. This is just the beta, remember?"

    Shesmu''s suggestion resonated with Ryan. He scratched his chin thinking for a few seconds before replying, "Yeah, you''re right. Since this is just the beta, it''s better to gather information. If we get to know where the dungeons are now, we will have a much easier time locating them in the live game."

    "Oh, I see. Yeah, that makes sense," said Leo.

    "Well then, let''s split for now. Leo, you explore the right part. Ryan, the left. I''ll check forward."

    "Sounds good," Ryan replied. "If I find something, I''ll report to you telepathically."

    "Yeah, that''s a good idea," Shesmu affirmed.

    With those words, the party split up, each going in one direction.

    * * *

    At the same time, on the battlefield that hosted the goblin and fox army, the Goblin General stood. Next to him were many of his advisors and subordinates, each of which kept their hands behind their backs and looked downwards in respect.

    "Grr,"

    "O'' king of the foxes, what a pitiful sight. To think that an evolved variant like you would fall this low, you really underestimated us."

    "General, with the power of the seal that was granted to us by the fae and our blacksmith''s prowess, even if it was an evolved beast it couldn''t resist that might. In the end, it''s just one monster who still hasn''t learned how to speak."

    The words of the kneeling advisor behind his back brought a smile to the Goblin General''s face. For the whole time, he was worried about the outcome of the battle, but seeing the firefox falling prey to the trap as planned relieved him from stress.

    After looking at the Fox King for two seconds, General Chrome''s smile turned shrewd as he thought about something. He took a few steps towards the beast in front of him until he could feel its hot breath on his face. The General then taunted.

    "How do you feel now? Seeing the face of the one who killed all of your brethren. Does it hurt? Does it make you despair?"

    The tired eyes of the Fox king glinted with a cold light.

    "Awwooo!"

    The beast howled with all of its might and tried raising its paw. However, the chains blocking its shoulders and the pole that rooted its paws to the ground remained unyielding. It opened its mouth, fire gathering at the tip of its tongue. However, it dissipated into ember before dealing any damage.

    "Haha! Keep struggling Fox King. Your body has been chained and your magic has been sealed. If you think that with your puny power you can break the seal, then dream on! Of course, that''s unless you evolve again."

    The Goblin General finished with a low note. He was having fun giving hope to the beast then shattering it right after. Both of him and the Fox King knew that there was 0% chance of a second evolution as the firefox already reached adulthood.

    The firefox glared at the Goblin General in front of it with fury engulfing its eyes. But it knew that it was of no use. Its clan was already decimated and its power was dwindling. With all of the injuries it had accumulated, the only reason it still hasn''t died was because of the amazing natural recovery of the firefoxes.

    The Fox King no longer cared about what would happen to itself. The beast already lived a long life and it had no regrets. It made the fox clan reach level of dominance thought of as impossible before, in this internal area of the forest. Its only worry was its child, but it already made sure to leave an escape path for it before the Fox King was caught.

    "Haha! Well, enjoy these few days of rest, because they will be your last."

    The Goblin General then turned and signaled to his attendants to follow him out. He already had his fun and there were still many things he had to attend to.

    The Goblin General left and the Fox King just lied on the ground with its eyes closed. However, what none of the participants knew was that there was another being in the room looking at the scene. For the longest time, its eyes were fearful, but as the Goblin General kept taunting the Fox King, its eyes burned in anger. By the time General Chrome left, the stealthy being''s eyes were cold.

    * * *

    "Huff, puff,"

    Shesmu breathed in and out while standing on a tree branch. Jumping for half an hour from one tree branch to another would tire anyone who hasn''t specced in agility and vitality.

    After calming his breath, Shesmu looked down. The branch was fifteen feet above the ground, so he could see whatever was happening down there clearly.

    Few wolves roamed the area. Only two were entering a cave with a game on their mouths.

    Thought it would be hard to find the dungeon in the middle of the night. Who would have thought that you two will guide me all the way?

 32 Overgrinding

    After Shesmu found out about the wolves'' hideout, he issued the command for telepathic communication.

    ''Ryan, Leo, I found it.''

    ''Oh, nice. Where are you?'' Leo asked.

    Ryan''s put-down came swift and quick. ''Just look at the map, you dummy.''

    Shesmu shook his head at his friends'' antics before saying with a serious voice. ''Leo, you''re five minutes away from my location. Ryan, you''re eight. Come here quick.''

    ''Roger.''

    Even though Ryan was located the farthest, he reached Shesmu''s location first.

    "Ehm, soo, what was that thing about eight minutes and five minutes?"

    Ryan''s sly remark made Shesmu furrow his eyebrows in annoyance. He took a quick glance at the minimap only to see that Leo was pretty close. Soon enough, he appeared from within the shrubs and made his way towards Shesmu and Ryan.

    "Great, since everyone is here. Let''s go to the cave." Without even waiting for a response, Shesmu made his way towards the dungeon.

    Leo was surprised at the abruptness of Shesmu. He felt that there was some tension in the air. He looked at Ryan for answers, but the latter only giggled and followed after Shesmu.

    [Congratulations on finding the level 10 dungeon: Silver Wolves'' Cave!]

    The cave was dark, even darker than the forest. Even the moonlight that was their guide abandoned them in this dungeon.

    "Leo, please light up the torch," asked Shesmu.

    "Sure, give me a second."

    Leo took out the torch from his inventory and lighted it up. The fire was a savior¡ªa guide to the trio who just a few moments ago couldn''t see two feet past their nose.

    The party explored the cave and after two minutes, they found their first foes.

    Two wolves, both of them had black fur and red eyes. Their fangs were sharp and their claws deadly. Shesmu inspected them. Both were at level 11.

    Wolf

    HP: 730/730

    Wolf

    HP: 750/750

    Shesmu had the urge to just use Demon Slash and be done with it. However, remembering the Energy cost and cooldown of the skill, Shesmu stopped himself.

    Both Leo and Ryan dashed towards the monsters without waiting for Shesmu''s orders. At that point, they had already developed enough of team coordination to not need Shesmu to give even the most basics of instructions.

    With dexterous movements, Ryan dodged the wolf''s attacks and countered with his own. He slashed at the beast''s neck. However, just as the dagger grazed the wolf''s neck, shadows cloaked Ryan''s dagger. Two damages appeared above the monster''s head, killing it instantly.

    Looking at this display of skill, Shesmu couldn''t help but pause and smile.

    Huh, so he was able to copy it.

    Leo took a much simpler approach. He first blocked the wolf''s strike with his shield before countering with his own attacks. With a couple of rotations, Leo was able to kill the wolf easily.

    "Good job, the both of you. It seems that you no longer need me now, maybe you should try and duo the dungeon for a change."

    "You''re joking, right? Of course, we can, just sit back and relax."

    Shesmu was just trying to tease both of them a little, but who would have thought that Ryan would be even more quick-witted.

    "Ehh, you guys are joking, right?" Leo said with a quivering voice.

    Looking at Leo''s worried face, both Shesmu and Ryan had the same grin on their face.

    "I don''t know about that," replied Ryan. "Were you joking, Shesmu?"

    "Huh, why would I joke about something like that? You guys are plenty strong. You can do the work, while I just sit outside and enjoy the moonlight."

    Looking at Shesmu''s deadpan face, Leo was getting worried for real.

    "Ehh, I''m really not sure about that Shes. Ryan is really good, I know, but I don''t think we can do it alone."

    Both of Ryan stayed silent for a few seconds, making Leo''s worries grow even bigger.

    "Hey guys-" Just as Leo was about to talk, Shesmu and Ryan cut him off with their laughter.

    "Hahaha! Dude, you should see the look in your face. It''s too good! Haha!"

    Seeing Ryan laugh like a maniac, Leo heaved a sigh of relief.

    "You guys really went too far with the joke, you know?"

    "Sorry sorry, Leo," Shesmu apologized. "It was just too good of an opportunity to pass up."

    "Ehm, ehm," Shesmu coughed twice to set up a serious tone. "Okay guys, let''s continue on with the exploration. It''s getting late."

    "Yeah, let''s do that," Leo curtly responded to the dismay of Ryan. The latter just clicked his tongue and followed after them.

    The party kept exploring the cave, killing wolves left and right. The monsters posed no challenge, making them bored out of their mind. The situation kept repeating itself multiple times until the first elite appeared.

    Silver Fang Wolf(Elite)

    HP: 2300/2300

    "Well, I guess this is the first monster that won''t be one-shot," declared Shesmu.

    He then dashed and appeared in front of the Silver Fang Wolf. He then executed his Empowered Slash Thrust Combo, dealing more than 2000 damage. The beast dropped dead with one hit.

    "Nah, just kidding. It was still one-shot," said Shesmu dejectedly.

    "You really like bragging about, Shesmu. But I like that, a strong person has the right to brag, that''s my motto!" declared Ryan with hands on his hips.

    "Oh, I don''t think he is bragging. I too didn''t think that it would be one-shot, it''s an elite after all."

    "You know, Leo. Sometimes, I really don''t know if you''re trolling or not."

    Ryan looked at Leo with tired eyes, already used to his friend''s antics. Leo, on the other hand, had a confused look on his face.

    "Well, let''s just continue guys. I''m getting bored of this dungeon already, I just wanna blitz it," said Shesmu.

    With those words, the party continued their exploration. The trio blitzed through the dungeon-like there was no tomorrow, wasting no more than 20 seconds on every pack of wolves. Even elite wolves couldn''t survive one combo from Shesmu, so the whole ordeal was a breeze.

    After much exploration, the trio found themselves in front of a big door. All of them assumed that it was the boss''s room. By the time they reached this far into the dungeon, Shesmu and Ryan reached level 13 while Leo was 12.

    "It really sucks that none of the wolves dropped any weapon, but at least the elites dropped good quality pelt and wolf armors, so I guess that''s not too bad," Ryan commented.

    "Well, yeah. We were in need of new armors anyway. It would be really weird if we had insane weapons but all the other equipment was trash," responded Shesmu.

    "Anyway, the exp was good, so I''m fine with that. Plus, isn''t the boss going to drop some cool weapons and items? That''s the custom, right?"

    "Well, yeah Leo. Plus, things are finally going to be fun. I hope."

    Shesmu had an excited smile on his face as he opened the doors to the boss'' room. In the middle of it, a beast three meters tall with ripped muscles stood. Its silver fur shined through the moonlight that came from the rooftop.

    Shesmu used Inspect on the wolf and his excited smile became even more deranged.

    Silver Wolf King(Boss)

    HP: 30000/30000