Proluge

Dying for the 4th time

Year 2355

Within the game, Rioneed stood the greatest city amidst the Heptian domain. The great city of Ramsis.

It was this very city that every player of Heptian was proud of. It was considered, that this was the center of command and control over the region’s defenses. A city comparable to an ancient kingdom in size, surrounded by towering walls with catapults atop of defensive towers. Guild flags from all over the domain were being raised in this very city.

Currently, loud warning sounds were ringing everywhere in the city, and chaos could be seen all over. This city experienced war every time the Heptian domain was invaded by Solronian domain players. Yet, the city stood strong, sieges were unable to break down its walls. This time though, it was not the usual war, as the enemy was not the Solronian domain players this time.

"Make way for Guild Master 205" This command was accompanied by the appearance of a group of twenty players on the walls led by a middle-aged man with white hair and a very thin build. His gaze was filled with intensity.

"Scouts report," He ordered from atop the walls.

"The situation is very strange, as we are being attacked by high-leveled monsters. They have an extraordinary ability to prevent the resurrection of any player after they kill them." One of the players answered.

The man in command was the legendary guild master whose in-game name was 205. His very guild handled the management of the city. Though they weren't the founders of the city, but since they were some of the first players in the game, they had the opportunity to quickly take over the city. Guildmaster 205 was well known for his contributions and the management of the city, leading to its smooth development.

"Anyone know why these monsters are attacking our city? Is there a new event?" 205 asked all the players around him. They were the upper echelon of his guild and the players that he trusted most in this game.

"I have seen some topics in various forums describing the same incident that is happening in other domains" one of the men replied to him.

"Are you sure Dante?" 205 looked at this young man as he asked.

"Yes sir, I've read 20 of such threads" Dante said while his eyes were fully focused before him. A lot of transparent panels were opened in front of Dante to follow up on the incident from several forums at the same time.

"That's strange. A global event like this without any game announcement" 205 muttered to himself as he thought deeply.He had no doubts about Dante, as he was known for his obsession with following the forums.

Because of his brilliant mind and ideas, he was a much-respected player in the Heptian domain. 205 was also a worthy leader, even though he was helpless in front of this bizarre situation.He couldn't pick the appropriate explanation for this. After a few moments of thinking, he decided to let it go.

He still had a battle to command. His decision was to first stop these monsters from advancing since a lot of players had been dispersed on various maps and dungeons, it would take time for them to return here.

"Ibro, bring your army with you and move out of the city. I want you to create a defensive line a few kilometers away from the city. No bug should be allowed to pass you."He looked at one of the players with a big shield and a short sword and ordered.

Ibro moved down the walls to the ground at once, as he knew the severity of the situation.

When he landed, his 100 thousand men army assembled and marched directly to the front.

Ibro managed to spot the monsters’ huge shadows just after half an hour of him leaving the city.

He remained in the middle of his army observing the approaching enemy. It was an odd mix of monsters that he never heard about before.

"Get in formation and never let the monsters pass you. Hold the line and we'll be celebrating tonight" with a strong and steady voice, he commanded. Ibro was not a newbie as he had seen numerous battles and fought countless tough wars.

The long-range magicians and archers were the first to launch their attack. An overwhelming amount of spells and destructive arrows rained down and poured onto the hordes of creatures. The effectiveness of this assault was without doubt as tens of thousands of creatures lost their lives under the first wave of ranged attacks. The second wave followed swiftly.

Ibro looked on with pride at his army and their assaults. He personally chose his men one by one at a time. He knew the strengths and weaknesses of everyone. This was one of the reasons why 205 relied on him with difficult tasks like these. The fight didn't last for more than ten minutes and suddenly, every player received a notification of something.

"Global Announcement: the Pnroian monsters have invaded every domain of the world. The game considers this as mission failure. Rioneed will now withdraw from this world."

As soon as the notification finished, every player in the world felt a shake in their bodies. It was as if something had left them. Their souls received a hard blow that caused them to lose concentration for a moment. Ibro was no exception and when he recovered, things have changed drastically all around him. Because of that sudden loss of concentration, they lost the upper hand that they had, and the monsters took this chance to push through. The beasts attacked relentlessly, crushing any player in their way.

Less than half of Ibro's army was remaining when the monsters reached Ibro's position. He gritted his teeth as he couldn't understand what was going on. He didn't fully understand what this announcement meant. He tried to call 205 but nothing happened, as there was no response at all from the game system. It was like there was no system at all.

Ibro stood his grounds and concentrated on the incoming monster. He was still feeling pain deep in his soul, but he endured it. To stop the assault of these monsters, he dodged to his left. He scarcely succeeded in avoiding the monster's long lethal claws, to his surprise, his agility seemed to be lower than usual.

He didn't have enough time to think about it because another beast attacked him from behind. Ibro retreated just in time to prevent the assault. In his position, he could see five different attacks coming from five different directions. He tried to dodge them but failed as he had no space to move at all. He knew when he saw these assaults that he was doomed, as a nail-like spear pierced his neck. He felt terrible pain daunting all over his body.

He began to lose concentration and felt that his body was going numb. He realized that he was dying. At the same time, a peculiar ray of black light appeared from his heart and shone all over the world.

His mind went blank and he died.

Ibro was dead, but somehow, his body reappeared in an unknown world. This world was coated with gray fog. Ibro's body was suspended within the mist, like a fish swimming in the sea. There was an eerie silence that made this world feel especially gloomy.

A white cloud seemed to float slowly and steadily towards his body from afar. The fog clustered around his body until it hit him, as though it was embracing him. A part of the fog shifted to create a hazy female silhouette. She stared for a long time before sighing with her white eyes locked at Ibro.

"This is your fourth loss in your trial. You know that the next time will be your final chance. If you fail, we'll all lose... I'll even lose my life. We all bet on your success, but… every time you retry, you fail. You lack motivation. You lack information. This…"The gentle voice of a lady emerged in this dark place like a beautiful song. A look of distress was reflected in her grim face. It was as though she was in struggling and hesitating over a very important decision. After a long time of silence, she sighed.

"To send you any memories, I will need to use a part of my strength. And to do this, I'm going to give up part of my soul to remain with you. This may be a bad idea, but then ..." She had gone quiet again. She wasn't hesitating at all this time, but she was nervous.

"Yes, this means I will be next to you and fight alongside you again." A cloud of fog detached from her and invaded his body.

"I'll try to retain as many memories as possible of the key details about your time in this game.I can't make you recall everything, but at least you're going to have your essential memories. The laws of your trial prohibit me from giving you much more on this." She lamented over her weakness towards his trial.

"I'll take over the role of this unknown player who created the big city of Ramsis. Instead of him, I'm going to play using my old name, Aya Darwish, and become your game motivation. As I have added my data into your memory, you will always feel like searching for me and fighting for me. Sadly, I will also lose my memories because a part of my soul will always be with you.I hope you will soon be able to find me. You have to crack the game rules as soon as possible and see the whole truth beforehand." Then she gently hugged him before she kissed his cheek.

"Remember my darling, this is our last shot. Don't ruin it. It's all on the line here, my little necromancer." Then she moved her hand and caught something.

From a distance, a strange-looking knife emerged as it was moving easily through the fog.It was like a tiny piece of iron attracted by a massive magnet. It got faster and faster every moment until it pierced Ibro's heart precisely. When this dagger entered his body, the cloud surrounding him had lost control, erupting almost like boiling oil.

"Death Dao!"

A majestic and deep voice sounded throughout this world It was like a divine edict. Everything in place stood momentarily still as t time and space had frozen. Ibro's body started to shake before it miraculously disappeared just as it appeared. After that, everything returned to what it was like as if nothing had ever happened in this unknown gloomy world.

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