"What the hell happened!?", Grid asked
"I...I don't know, the last thing that I remembered was the explosion that swallowed the whole place". Zeek said.
"Did we just trigger an expansion?", Grid asked
"I...I think so." Zeek said
"After this maintenance, we will be so famous for sure! this is the right time to build a guild!", Grid said
"Building a guild can wait. First, we need to research some of the upcoming content of the Dark Age expansion pack", Zeek said.
"Bro... Even the game moderators were surprised about the sudden expansion", Grid said.
"Then lets research some in the chat rooms and let's see if there are some information there", Zeek said.
"Aye. see you tomorrow in class", Grid said then dropped the call.
Zeek continued to research some information regarding the expansion of group chats that littered all over the internet.
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BeachPlz: Does anyone of you know anything about the expansion?
DadBad: A player named Endless triggered the event!, I'm one of the players who fought the Boss and I saw him talking to Zafir, He's the only one who knows what's going on.
Nowhere-To-Be-Found: I'm there too! that fight was awesome!, I never saw magic that grand before!, NEVER SEEN THAT IN ANY FREAKING GAME!!.
Muffin-Toast: What guild is this Endless on?
Nowhere-To-Be-Found: I don't know, I'm from Storm Knights Guild and all I know is he's a friend of our guild leader, but he talks to Piercing Rose like a colleague, maybe he's one of Cloud Nines Experts or Elders.
Pay-It: No, he's not from our guild, I don't think he is affiliated in any well-known guilds.
Wazzzuuup: Is he creating his guild!?, I want to be part of it.
BreadStick: I'm so in for that!, I want to be one of the founding members!
"I can't find any information in this types of group chats", Zeek said.
Zeek then stood up and turned off the PC.
"I guess I'll just have to wait tomorrow to see it for myself" he then turns in for the night.
After school hours Zeek and Grid talked a little about the upcoming expansion, after that, both of them head home.
After dinner, Zeek logged in to the game, anxious to find what's new, but after logging in he stumbled to a place he didn't know. He woke up in a place field with papers hanging on a thread, these papers have seals written over them. He laid on a stone tablet like a table with words written on them.
"Am I being sacrificed?" Endless said.
"Who will want a weak one like you" a young girl wearing a blood-red kimono and black overcoat with red curly hair walked in on Endless.
"And who are you?"Endless asked.
"I'm Ophelia, the oracle of the Gods"
"Why am I here?" Endless asked
"You pass out after the explosion", Ophelia answered.
"What happened?"Endless asked
"After the explosion, a huge mass of dark energy gathered inside The Vulcan Empire, we thought that it's a self destruct spell formulated by the king before his death... The truth is, he cast forbidden magic. forbidden even by the Gods. . . A resurrection spell that awakens 13 of the Dark Kings of the past generations. We don't know who they are yet and if they regain their full power... All I'm certain is they are dangerous." Ophelia Explained
"What about... Master Zafir?", Zeek asked
"He died, it's not your fault so don't worry about it too much, Zafir is a great oracle like me, he knew that he will die on that day," Ophelia said.
Endless then opened his player interface and looked at the quest that Zafir gave him.
"I got the quest items?" Endless said.
"What quest items?" Ophelia asked
"Master Zafir asked me to kill Namir Azen and retrieve its pendant", Endless said.
"Let me see it", Ophelia said
Endless handed the item to Ophelia, after investigating it properly she cast a spell to identify the necklace.
"This item amplifies one's magic output, do you need it?", Ophelia said
"Zafir wanted to use that item so he can identify a mysterious item that I got", Endless said.
"Can I see the item that you spoke of", Ophelia asked.
Endless then pulled out the Shadow Kings Journal
"A cursed item!?, how did you get something like this?"
Ophelia then examined the Shadow Kings Journal.
"The dark seal on this one is impossible for normal magicians of this era, but I think I can unbreak it using this necklace as a sacrifice", Ophelia said.
"A sacrifice?", Endless asked
"Breaking a cursed seal needs an artifact of the same level to open, I'm not as good as Zafir in unsealing items that originated in the Demon Empire but this is the only choice that you have if you want to break it", Ophelia said.
"I guess I have no choice"
Ophelia then used magic multiplier and she then summoned 3 more exact copy of herself.
"Woah! what kind of magic is that? Endless asked.
"This is not magic, You can call it Hereditary Skill, only with royal bloodline can use this kind of magic", Ophelia explained.
Ophelia enchanted some magic into the Shadow Kings Journal and black seals started to appear surrounding the artifact, she then positioned herself and the clones to gather around it. As they lift there hands a gigantic white magic array appeared above them, one of the clones lift the necklace and positioned it on top of the Shadow Kings Journal.
"This will be the tricky part, we only have 75% chance on unsealing the Shadow Kings Journal, would you like us to continue?" Ophelia asked.
"What!?, you did all this first before asking me? and now you're telling me that failure is probable?" Endless said.
"Yap, so? we continue or Nah?" Ophelia asked.
"Just do it", Endless said with an exhausted look on his face.
Endless looked anxious as he stares at the progress bar in front of him
"Please be a success, please be a success, please be a success!" Endless muttered to himself.
Suddenly a bright light enveloped the whole place.
"Did it work!?", Endless asked anxiously.
Endless then saw a tome emitting a dark ominous aura
"You're a lucky kid, this journal is about the creation of a weapon, but I'm not that knowledgeable in reading ancient demon tongue", Ophelia said.
"Do you know anyone who can help me understand this thing?" Endless asked.
"Journey way north of Vulcan Empire, there will be a small village near the borders of the free land, search for a Dragon Kin named Ignac, He's a tough cookie but show him this and he'll be alright with you", Ophelia then gave Endless an emblem made out of shiny rubies shaped like a dragons head.
"What is this?," Endless asked.
"The Emblem of Dragoon, One of the major families of the Demon Clan", Ophelia explained.
"By the way, why are you helping me?" Endless asked.
"Too early for you to know that, I'll contact you again if the time comes", Ophelia then flicked his wrist and Endless vanished in an instant.
Endless suddenly appeared in front of the Vulcan Empires gates.
"What the hell is wrong with that girl!?" Endless shouted
System: Congratulations, You completed the Hidden Quest: Jewel of the Undead [Rank A], your character will receive 850,000 exp, 205 gold, 520 Vulcan Reputation.
Light showered on Endless body
"Wow, I gained 2 levels?, I'm already level 29" Endless was surprised, he remembered that he gained enough experience point to level up after killing Amir Azen and didn't realize that he acquired an ample amount of exp. because of the event.
BOOOOOOOOM!!!!
A thunderous sound startled Endless, he looked back and saw the changes that occurred after the big event.
"W..What happened here!?"
System: A call from Undying Flame, would you like to accept it? Y/N
"A new feature?," Endless then press Y.
"What happened to you?, I thought you'll be the first to log in?" Undying Flame said.
"I woke up in a strange place after the event, but enough about that. Did you investigate the new expansion?" Endless asked.
"Yap, Light and the others are with me, come to the Vulcan Empires Library".
"Call the others too, add Flower Remedy and tell her to come with her friends", Endless ordered.
"Okay, see you in a minute then", Undying Flame said after that he hung up.
System: A call from Piercing Rose, would you like to accept it? Y/N
"Piercing Rose?" Endless muttered, he then presses Y.
"What's up", Endless said.
"Like always, busy in investigating the new game content, do you have any information on the new expansion?" Piercing Rose asked.
"To tell you the truth... I don't have a clue, we and the others are trying to figure out. Wanna come along and tag?
"Where is the meeting place?", Piercing Rose asked.
"Go to the Vulcan Empires Grand Library", Endless said
After dropping the call, Endless continue his way to the library, waiting in the front door of the library stood a noble-looking man wearing a monocle, this man is none other than the Guild Leader of The Black Domain Guild, Mephisto.
As Endless walk towards them he saw a familiar face, he didn't have a chance to know this man but he remembered his face as one of the commanding leaders who fought in the event, Astaroth.
Astaroth walked towards Endless before he can ascend the stairs towards the library.
"Mister Endless, I didn't have time to introduce myself because of the event. I'm the Vice Leader of The Black Domain Guild, Astaroth".
"I see, I thought that you are some kind of commander on Piercing Rose's Guild", Endless said.
"I'm here with our Guild Leader, Mephisto", Astaroth introduced the man, he then walked forward and raised his hand for a shake.
"It's good to see the man who shook Gods Realm to its core, Congratulations on opening the games first expansion" Mephisto said.
"Pleasure to meet you too, I'll cut to the chase, do you need something from me?" Zeek asked.
"Do you have time to talk in private?" Mephisto asked.
"Sorry but today is a busy day, my team and some friends would like to review the new game features of the expansion, we tried to gather some information about it," Endless said.
"Do you have a room for 2 more?, we would like to exchange some information about the expansion too", Mephisto said.
"Sure, The more players gathering together the more information we can gather", Endless said.
Endless then walked inside the library accompanied by the two men, Endless then approached Lilith near the Library counter.
"Master Endless!, Long time no see", Lilith greeted Endless.
"Hello again Lilith, hows the library without the archive master?, I know that Master Zafir is a great loss for the Vulcan Empire", Endless said.
"It will be tough to replace Master Zafir as head of the Archives, that's why when we heard the news the whole faculty mourned Master Zafir's death. Later this evening there will be a gathering in the plaza square for Master Zafirs memorial, please attend the gathering if you have time."
"I will be there for sure, by the way, do you have a conference room that we can rent?", Endless asked.
"The only available conference room right now is number 6 which is located upstairs, do you want to occupy the room?" Lilith asked.
"Yes please", Zeek said.
Lilith then guided the three upstairs, after entering the room Endless PM'ed all the members who will attend the meeting and he sent them the room number. After 10 minutes of waiting all of the attendees are present.
"So.... who will go first?", Endless asked.
"We gathered information about some features of the game, it's nothing new to the online game community because other VRMMO already has it, first is the introduction of Array Scrolls, This scrolls vary on its uses, as all of us know, Array Scrolls are a piece of parchment where Magic can be stored and can be used in a given time the user releases its seal."
"Next is the new Tier 0 Items, we don't know if this is new or not because the majority of lower players only have normal equipment, while pro players only have 1 or 2 pieces of Tier 0 and the appearance of this item is so low".
After talking, Peppermint approached Piercing Rose and handed her some document.
"This is the documents regarding the known scrolls for every town, this one are some lower dungeons who started to drop Tier 0 equipment after the expansion, I made only 1 copy for Endless and his team, I'll just send another copy for The Black Domain Guild later this afternoon." Piercing Rose said.
"Thank you for that information," Endless said.
Mephisto then whispered to Astaroth, after talking for a while Astaroth stood up and opened his map.
"This is the map of Vulcan Empire before the event unfolds. . ." Astaroth said.
He then opened another map.
"As you can see in the lower part of the map where the Grave of the Kings is located had vanished because of the event. the mountains behind it opened a new road towards the unknown, some of our thieves tried to uncover the new map... but something happened.
Astaroth played a video clip, in this video they can see a group of thieves venturing a narrow path walk, after 4 minutes of walking they end up on a cliff with a hanging bridge, as the thieves walk towards the bridge a black shadow like smoke appeared out of nowhere and started to kill the thieves.
"We think that this new bridge will connect the players to an unknown territory that opened after the expansion".
"Do you see the level of that creature?," Piercing Rose asked.
"Lvl 35, The creatures name is Death Chaser, If you know some history of Vulcan Empire you will know where these creatures originated".
"Originated?, I thought these creatures are one of the new additions in the expansion?" Piercing Rose said.
"Yes and No. Yes, they are the new addition on the game's expansion. . . but these creatures originated a long time ago... These creatures are created by the 2nd Demon King... King Namir Raha. They are personal guards of the 2nd King. created to assassinate anyone who opposes the 2nd King." Astaroth said.
"We don't know the details on why these creatures started to show up, the books indicate that these creatures are extinct, ones a King dies all of his servants will have to die to, including the personal guards," Mephisto said.
"You see, Demon Kings believe that after death they'll have to face their sins on using the cursed objects that the Shadow King gave them. And to cleanse their souls of this hatred and malice that surrounds there entire life they need to defeat the Shadow King in the afterlife to be given a chance of rebirth. That is why after death the King's guards must accompany there King in the afterlife." Astaroth said.
"This is the only information that we have right now", Mephisto said.
"So the next dungeon will be on this island?" Piercing Rose asked.
"Yes, but first, we must defeat the guardians of the bridge first before we can venture inside". Mephisto said.
"About that... I have something to tell you", Endless said.
All of them looked at Endless
"The event that unfolds that day is not random, after logging in I end up to a place that I don't know, I think it's the base location of those masked individuals who helped us in killing Namir Azen... They told me that Namir Azen used a forbidden spell... And he awakened 13 Demon Kings of the past."
"P...Past Demon Kings!?, a...are you sure!?, Astaroth asked.
"Yes, they said that some of the Demon Kings have been revived", Endless said.
The room became silent because of what Endless told them.
Suddenly someone knocked on the door, Undying Flame stood up and opened it.
"Excuse me, Is Vice Guild Leader Astaroth or Guild Leader Mephisto here?"
"Excuse me, this is one of our high officers, can I request you to let him in?" Astaroth asked.
"Sure, I'm Endless"
"You can call me Zepar, Intelligent officer of The Black Domain Guild".
"Do you have something urgent?" Mephisto asked.
"Yes sir, some news spread that after the expansion a new field boss appeared west of the Grave of the Kings location, other small guilds started to gather and we dispatch 500 of our men to see if it's true," Zepar said.
"And?" Astaroth said
"I...It's different than the other field boss that we encountered... after arriving in the location we thought that the field boss will be just a giant demon sized monster like the other", Zepar.
"Just get to the point", Mephisto ordered.
Zepar then looked at Endless and Piercing Rose.
"D...Do you want me to say it now?" Zepar asked.
"It's OK, these players are a friend of ours", Mephisto said.
Zepar then opened a video clip.
"T...This is what we saw" Zepar said
As the video starts all that they can see are thousands of players marching in the rumored location of the first Field Boss after the expansion.
Ruma: You're one of the members of the intelligence branch of the guild, right? are you new?
Areth: Y...Yes, they want me to record the upcoming battle.
Ruma: You need to take the high grounds around the location, look at those thieves above the trees and rocks, those are the intelligence-gathering team of other guilds, you should follow them.
Areth: Okay, Thanks
As the intelligence gathering team ascend to the stone terrain the other team members started to venture forward and what lies in front of them is not a monster.
"W..What is that?, It's too far to see", Astaroth said.
As the player moved forward to capture a clearer view Endless and the others already saw what the figure was.
"I...It's a kid?" Mephisto said.
Confused on what they saw the team started to watch the video again
Areth: I...Is that a kid?, Is he an NPC
Areth then contacted the guilds attack team
Areth: Attack Team Leader!, do you see the field boss?, is it a field boss and not an NPC?
Ruma: Yes we can see him, he is just sitting there.
Areth: What will be our next move? the other guilds are continuing to move forward towards the boss.
Ruma: We wait, Let the other guilds engage in it first.
As the other guilds come closer and closer the kid wearing only a torn black pants stood up, he then looked at his surroundings and saw thousands of players running towards him with there weapons pointed toward him.
Suddenly the kid inhaled then released a loud shout.
UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
A giant shock wave of sound swept the players who are trying to attack the kid, all of them fall to the ground.
Areth: What the hell was that!?
Ruma: A stunning skill!
The kid then started emitting lightning on his back until the lightning created a giant wheel like form and started to spin, as it spins the kid started to float in mid-air.
"I am Amir Zalen, the 12th King of the Demon Empire, after thousands of years that I slumber you humans didn't even change. You only know how to fight a war. You disgust me.
Amir Zalens eyes turned into blue, and lightning started to emit in his surrounding, the dark cloud started to form, he then raised his right hand opening his palm towards the players who are stun on the ground.
"You creatures will die here!" Amir Zalen said.
In his palm he gathered Lighting, he then pointed it towards the ground
"Hollow Thunder!"
Thousands of lightning rays appeared on this finger piercing every player in the vicinity, killing all the guilds who participated in the raid.
Ruma: W...What the hell!
Areth: W..We need to get out of here!
Amir Zalen saw the members of the Black Domain Guild and in just seconds all of them were annihilated.
"Guild Leader, T..That kid is." Astaroth said
"Amir Zalen... The Storm Bringer." Mephisto muttered.