Thud, thud, thud.
The broken skeletal body of the Bone Terror plummeted down the ground.
Clack.
Abaddon's jaws moved as he hopped off his mount and crouched beside the littered bones.
He extended his arm and grabbed the ones that weren't broken.
Suddenly, dark smoke appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around them.
In just a few seconds, the bones completely integrated themselves into the black smoke, it was as if they dissolved like a cube of sugar into coffee, albeit, in this circumstance, it was a formless gas instead of a liquid.
Hummmm—
There was a soft humming sound as the black smoke flew towards Abaddon and wrapped around him.
Seeing this scene, Drax, the skeleton knight with the blazing skull nodded.
"As an undead, and a lowly one at that, to become stronger, you must absorb the bones of the undead enemies you've slain."
"Consume. Absorb. Dominate."
As if his words were the trigger, the dark gas that revolved around Abaddon linked itself to him until it was eventually absorbed.
Abaddon stood up and raised his head.
The blue flickering flames that were his eyes shone as he remounted his skeleton horse.
"Let's go," Drax said as he pulled his horse and rode deeper into the Plateau.
Abaddon nodded his head and followed after.
Despite the bright moon that shone upon the world, the moonlight had difficulty penetrating the region as darkness filled the surrounding.
As the two continued going deeper, they eventually disappeared into the shroud of darkness.
*****
'What is that little guy doing?' Sky thought as he read the system notification that his Skeleton Summoning had failed.
'Did he get himself an opportunity?'
Unable to find an answer, he shrugged and put the thought at the back of his head.
Since the little skeleton is busy right now, he'll come later on his volition.
"Apologies for the delay." Sky smiled at Queen and the others. "Should we start hunting Demon Spawns now?"
The party members looked at each other before Queen nodded.
"Thank you in advance." she smiled, displaying a refreshing charm. "With your help, we'll be able to create our Guild earlier than expected."
Right then, Spectre intruded.
He looked at Sky with an unknown smile. "Now that we're talking about our Guild, Sky—"
Sky looked at him. "?"
"—would you like to join our guild when we finish our quest and finally create it?"
Surprised, Sky was silent at the assassin's offer.
His heart started to beat rapidly in expectation.
"I've never joined a Guild before." he smiled wryly. "Actually, this is the first video game that I've ever played..."
As someone who lived in the mountains with barely a contact with the civilization, he had never tried playing a video game before, despite always yearning for it.
"What?" Kyle exclaimed. "The first video game? Ever? So you've just been introduced to gaming lately?"
'What the heck! Although you're a martial artist, no matter how great you are, your control and game sense should be mediocre right now!' he thought in his heart.
Even the others were shocked.
Kyle's shock was justified.
For decades, since the boom in the virtual games industry, its been commonly known that even famous and accomplished martial artists had a hard time adapting themselves in virtual reality.
This was even more so for the numerous VRMMO games that had been developed throughout the years.
In this genre, combat and control were of the utmost importance.
The difficulty of controlling one's game avatar compared to one's real body wasn't anything insignificant.
As the world's technologically advanced, the industry also developed.
The various VRMMORPGs that competed against each other progressed their games as well.
One's five senses in-game was greatly improved. Vision, hearing, touch, smell, taste, adapting to such a drastically changed environment was easier said than done!
The pain sensory system, while it could be adjusted, its effects were still considerable.
The monsters. While they were indeed 'created', due to the improved realism, the feeling that one would have when facing a monster was massively distinguishable when compared to just seeing pictures and drawings of it.
What would a martial artist, a human, in the end, feel when it faces monsters that were created and based on myths and legends.
Fear, of course.
Without even discussing the difficulties of adapting to one's game avatar, which would definitely be weaker in the beginning, just the visual impact alone would make it hard for even those with hearts-of-steel.
The realism of the world and the environment in-game made it hard for even the most critical of critiques to find fault!
It made it hard for one to distinguish the differences between the real and the virtual.
However, such a new, different experience proved to be a great attraction to the masses.
The realism was so excellent that people actually 'lived' in virtual reality worlds instead, where they could 'live longer' due to the time dilations.
Magical, a word fitting for the 'worlds' that were created.
Worlds where even the handicapped and the elderly could 'live' vigorously and explore to their heart's content.
It was also due to this magical charm, something that's impossible in reality, that the people of the world strove to play virtual reality games.
Queen, who had a blank expression, regained her senses and looked at Sky.
His eyes were clear and face honest. He didn't seem to be lying.
"Still, I would like to invite you to join our Guild," she said as she extended her soft, dainty hands.
With smiling eyes, Sky shook her hand and agreed.
The player-base community didn't know it, but at that moment, the one who would be hailed as the strongest has joined the unstoppable guild that eventually stood at the apex.
He, was the one considered as the sky which countless players sought to catch up to; he, the one whose name and stories were sung by the wandering bards, both NPCs and players alike; he, the one who became a legendary player, was titled as the strongest of all—the undefeated!
Of course, that story will be told another time.
*****
New Era City, Revelation TV—the world's #1 gaming broadcasting station.
At this moment, at the highest floor of the building, a stern-looking middle-aged man stood by the window and stared afar.
His brows were sharp and his eyes reserved. As he stood behind his chair, he could be seen releasing a puff of smoke as he tapped his cigarette on the ashtray atop the desk.
*Whoooo...*
The view that nearly overlooked the whole city was completely taken in by him.
Right then, just as he was enjoying his quiet time, the door to the office was suddenly swung open.
Ferociously swung open, the rear of the door slammed the edge of the cabinet at its side.
Bang!
"Boss!" yelled a young man who was seen entering. Wearing a suit, this young man seemed to be in his early 20s.
"...damn," his brows frowning due to the interrupted of his quiet time, the man turned around stared at the young man. "What's the news?"
"Boss!" the young man greeted before reporting. "All five of our ace reporters have completed their class quest and got Thief class."
"Good." the boss nodded. "Tell them to increase their levels first before they start sniffing for some articles."
He continued. "Also, tell them that useless and mediocre stories such as low-tier quests, random PK'ings, already completed monster raids, and so on will be immediately discarded! Revelation only publishes newsworthy articles."
"You got it boss" the young man saluted.
"Also, how's the investigation for Lunatic going? Any news of him appearing in Everlasting World yet?"
"As of right now, we haven't received anything from our sources. Boss, do you think Handsome Lunatic will conquer this game as well, like the previous ones he played?"
The boss turned quiet at the question. He was silent for a few moments before saying. "It's hard to say. Although that God of Gaming has walked unrivaled at the previous VRMMO games, Everlasting World is different."
"Maybe we'll get a surprise this time," he said as he puffed a smoke once more. "For the past few years, be it Spirit Sword, Age of Atalanta, Endgame Online, and the other VRMMORPGs, they've all been conquered by that guy, becoming a legend in the gaming industry. However, I have this nagging feeling that this time will be different..."
*****
Meanwhile, at the sovereign power of Everlasting's West Continent—Camelot,
Standing before the gigantic gate that was the entrance to the empire, a man in his early 20s could be seen.
His features were sharp and his skin was without blemish, something that countless females would be envious of. His eyes were the color of the ocean; while he looked easygoing and laidback, one would still recognize the pride and arrogance present in his eyes.
Although there was a crowd of NPC merchants and civilians that were simply countless, one couldn't help but look and focus on that figure instead.
Clad in black chainmail that was stained with blood, a bloodthirsty aura exuded from him as the stench of iron could be detected.
Dragging a giant sword that was nearly two meters in size, the young man looked at the gate with a smirk before walking forward.