As Jun was unconscious, he felt as his entire soul being transported to an alternative plane. Here, the sands were endless and a giant sun hugged tightly against the ground, creating terrifying waves of heat that seemed to glassify and vitrify every living thing into glass. As Jun's soul slowly traversed the desert aimlessly, he spotted a large blur in the horizon. As he approached the blur, its features became more distinct and revealed a massive fortification spanning from horizon to horizon, spanning to the left and right endlessly.
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The heat blurred Jun's vision significantly, reducing his sight into a mix of blurs, colors, and bright lights. The closer he got to the castle, the less burden he felt and he slowly recovered his vision and strength. He finally arrived to a massive wooden gate with a single warrior adorned in bronze armor standing silently in front of the entrance. The man was spotless, and his armor shone brightly underneath the sweltering sun, yet the man remained entirely still and unfazed by the immense heat and light. Contrasting the pristine warrior, the gate and walls were faded and crumbling, and they seemed to be on the verge of falling. It was evident that these walls stood in the same place for an immense period of time, and they seemed to be only held together by the colossally talented construction and will of its builder.
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Jun inched closer and closer, and as he almost touched the door, a wave of force immediately repulsed him backward, slamming his body into the sand. As a cloud of sand flew up into the air and blocked his vision, a bronze flash of light appeared before Jun, cutting through the cloud of sand and standing in front of his limp body.
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The bronze warrior stood valiantly in front of Jun, with a large rounded shield and a basic, yet sharp blade. He spoke tersely, "Intruder, perish."
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He slashed his blade sideways, and an arc of orange sword light sliced through the air, leaving a series of flaming explosions in its wake. Time seemed to slow down as Jun saw the wave of fire and light approaching his neck: he took a deep breath and braced himself for death once again, gathering his courage and will to face death head-on. As the orange light touched the edge of his skin and as the immense heat seemed to scald his skin, it disappeared and was replaced with still silence.
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"Vitreus, cease your actions," a deep, rich baritone voice sounded out.
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The sword and shield dissolved into specks of orange light as the bronze warrior immediately kneeled on one leg and placed his fist on the ground in deference. Bowing his head as well, a large orange figure appeared out of thin air. Created from some ethereal, yet solid form of energy, the features of the figure were distinct: having a massively built and muscular frame like a barbarian, exotic furs and a regal gown hung from his shoulders. A straight cape and a sword slung from his waist, as a large amber-inset ring adorned his right index finger.
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As the figure levitated in front of the gate, he raised his right hand and Jun slowly levitated off from the surface of the ground. Jun immediately vanished and landed gently on top of cold marble slabs, with the environment shifting drastically. Looking up, he saw a giant, bronze mountain with the same figure, yet in fleshly body and form, sitting on top unamused. The throne on top of the mountain was carved from a strange rock that periodically glimmered or faded.
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"Hmph, you have been our only visitor in the past aeon. What, did that boy send you?"
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Jun looked confused at the question and before he could ask, the man continued speaking.
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"Oh? No relation? Hm."
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The figure sat there pondering while Jun stood there awkwardly. After a moment, the figure's eyes shone brightly and he immediately stood up laughing. Caving over in laughter, the entire world seemed to shake and Jun was floored onto his ass. The figure noticed Jun and then regained his composure before pushing back his slightly disheveled hair with his hand.
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"You're not qualified to know more. The laws of this realm bound me here, but I will offer you my legacy if you help free me."
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Jun thought for a moment before nodding his head in agreement. The figure waved his hand and a beam of light pierced through the air and hit Jun straight in the forehead, knocking him backward. Time seemed to slow as Jun's body slowly disintegrated and a split second later, Jun snapped up.
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As he awoke from his unconscious state, he felt the soft bed underneath him and then the cold sweat pouring from his forehead. The System immediately posted a new, flashing red window.
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"Warning. Host's mental state and soul have been extremely damaged. Parts of the System have been corrupted or erased. System reboot and reset is required.
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Loading..."
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A small progress bar slowly moved across the speed, stalling every once and a while. Jun felt as if it was years until it finally hit 100%, while his mind itself was extremely slow.
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"System has been adjusted to original settings. Manual mode engaged, automatic mode locked. System's functionality fully restored. Available menus: Character, Skills, Inventory, Map, Quest Log, System Shop.
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Quest Log's records not found. Repopulating and initializing Quests based on level, location, and knowledge.
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5 potential Quests found.
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"Be a Hero!" Quest:
- Description: Save Lora
- Rewards: Random class item. Based on random item, one class unlocked.
- Penalties: None
- Difficulty: Easy
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"Be a Villain!" Quest:
- Description: Kill George
- Rewards: ??? class item. ??? class unlocked.
- Penalties: ???
- Difficulty: Medium
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"Be a Protagonist!" Quest:
- Description: Obtain Leo Maw's Legacy
- Rewards: ???
- Penalties: ???
- Difficulty: Hard
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"Be an Antagonist!" Quest:
- Description: Refine Fifth Ring, Superbia (Nascent)
- Rewards: ???
- Penalties: ???
- Difficulty: Challenging
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"No more quests!" Quest:
- Description: Destroy Fifth Ring, Superbia (Nascent)
- Rewards: ???
- Penalties: Deactivate Quest module from System, ???
- Difficulty: Impossible
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Looking at the quests, Jun sat there in deep thought. Before he could process anymore information, George suddenly appeared once again with a wooden tray of food with an amused look. Placing the tray in front of Jun, George patted Jun on the back and smiled. For a split second, a phantom vision of George's cold face with bloodied hair interposed on top of his smiling face.
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Jun shuddered as he shook his head and tried to regain his composure, as George tried to soothe him. "It's okay Jun, take your time. It took me several years before I could master the Only Breath Technique..."
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Before he could explain, George noticed something about Jun and stopped, staring at him in absolute shock. "How....how did you manage to master the Only Breath Technique?!"