The sound of footsteps echoed through the dump cave, as Arthur made his way to the heart of it. He was there looking to complete the legendary quest he got by accident while exploring.

'A little more and I'll be able to get the Skypean race, I'm excited.'

Yggdrasil developers had said that only one player would get the Skypean race, and once that happened, a new game expansion wound be unlocked. Arthur had been stuck in between the ranks 150-200 for a long time, and that opportunity could be life changing for him, allowing him to climb higher in the ladder.

A large room. Arthur was sure that it was the end of it. He decided to first analyze the place, as a strong boss could be hidden somewhere. Surprisingly, he found nothing. Collecting all of his courage, Arthur walked in.

'A Skypean!' Arthur almost yelled in excitement. A NPC was sitting near a huge ravine, and it seemed he was hurt as a blood pool had formed beneath him. Arthur knew that guy was from the Skypean race as the man had two huge wings.

The NPC stood there, looking down towards the ravine, smiling. Arthur got closer to him, and the man suddenly spoke.

"Isn't it beautiful, brave adventurer?"

"It depends on what you're referring to," Arthur said.

"The Scarlet Lotus, of course. What else could bloom in such majestic way." The man turned, staring at Arthur.

"I'm Miquel, and you?"

"You can call me Arthur, nice to meet you. Wait, you're Miquel? The prince Miquel?"

Arthur was shocked. According to the game's lore, Miquel was a prince of the Skypean race, which meant he was one of the strongest in the entire game.

"You know me? I didn't think mortals would still know my name." Miquel laughed, and then turned serious.

"You're the first human I see in thousands of years, and for that I have a gift for you, and a request. Would you like to hear it?

That was the moment Arthur had been waiting. He was 99% sure that the gift would be the Skypean race, but he wasn't sure about the request.

"Yes of course. I'll be glad to help you with your request."

"Good, good. Now sit with me, and look." Miquel pointed down towards the ravine. Arthur wasn't sure on what was down there that Miquel stared so much, but it was certainly something incredible.

Arthur slowly got closer to it, sat and looked down.

'What is that thing?' he had never seen something like that.

A huge Scarlet Lotus. It's petals extended for kilometers. It was huge. The orange color of it was pleasing to the eye, and it glowed as if it was something divine. Arthur couldn't take his eyes of it, but the more he looked, more sinister it became.

'Am I seeing a face in that lotus? And why I can't take my eyes of it,' Arthur thought, and a message appeared in front of his eyes.

[Race changed to Skypean(Rotten)]

'Wait, what?'

[Description: the Skypeans were considered demigods and lived up in a city above the clouds. They excelled in everything, from melee combat to magic, from crafting weapons to enchanting them. They were the strongest in Yggdrasil. But that was the case long ago.

Miquel found a Scarlet Lotus thousands of years ago, and that would be the downfall of the Skypean race.]

"Beautiful, right? Now I have something to request," Miquel said. But before he could ask, Arthur vanished.

Arthur had died due to a explosion in his gaming helmet. That had never happened before, as the company ran multiple tests before start selling them.

'Did I die? How that happened?' A flash of images appeared in front of Arthur's eyes.

'They'll only find my body next month, bad part of living alone I guess. Will I still be handsome then?'

He didn't know what would happen after dying, no one did. But one thing that never crossed his mind was that the would go back in time.

*

The alarm rang, making a noise capable of driving the most sane man mad. Arthur slapped it, shutting down the annoying noise.

He was still in a daze, but soon memories of what happened appeared inside his mind. Arthur instantly grabbed his phone, checking out the date.

'21th May, year 2107. Holy shit' He couldn't believe it. He read a lot about dying and going back in time, as his favorite novels had that, but still, it was all fiction.

'That quest was strange. I got the Skypean race but it said it was Rotten. What is Rotten? And what was that gigantic Scarlet Lotus down there? And how the hell did I go back in time?' Arthur had many questions, but no answer. The only thing he could think of was to discover all of that inside Yggdrasil, as the game would launch at night.

He was excited. Arthur now had the opportunity to start anew, using all of his knowledge about the game to reach the peak, and maybe save his mother. That was something he couldn't miss, neither screw up.

Time passed slowly in Arthur's tiny apartment. He took a warm shower, ate and slept all day, preparing for the game launch. He also browsed through the internet, reading about how excited everyone was to test the game, and the announcements of all big guilds saying that they would migrate to Yggdrasil.

Well, the game was indeed a gold mine, and both casuals and pro players could earn real money. It was revolutionary to say the least.

Yggdrasil had some starting classes: Warrior, that would eventually become Knight, Swordsman or Berserker; Mage, which could change into Elementalist, Summoner and Necromancer; Cleric, that could change into Paladin, Priest or Templar; and Ranger, that would turn into Rogue or Marksman.

Arthur played as a Swordsman before, and he would choose it again as he was an expert in that class.

Finally, after waiting all day, Yggdrasil released, and Arthur was ready to become a legend.