WAKING UP AFTER DYING IS NOT FUN, IT MIGHT BE FUN FOR SOME BUT FOR ANTONIO IT WAS A NIGHTMARE COME TRUE.
Antonio, who never had a dream in the last three months was finally able to see a dream which he wished he hadn't because it was a nightmare. He abruptly woke up from his ninety-seven hours of sleep but, he didn't know that what awaited him was another disaster of his life. After the death of his parents, Antonio always wished for a peaceful life, he never wanted to get involved in any controversy that might disrupt his peace.
A person was standing beside Antonio's bed to greet him as soon as he woke up. "Good Morning, how are you feeling now?"
Antonio looked at the person, he was wearing a mask to conceal his identity. The mask was white and had strange inscriptions on it. He thought that the person beside him was Luke as he had remembered him wearing the same kind of mask.
"Luke, why are you still here?" he questioned coldly.
The person pulled off his mask to reveal his face, as soon as Antonio sat upright to get a look at the face of the person and he realized that he was not Luke. The person knew that what Antonio was thinking and he immediately introduced himself.
"My name is Leon Knight and I am the first Dragon Knight. Also, I am one of the few who got the chance to Beta test this game and I am also the Leader of Helgan Leaf, the most influential clan in all of Kalvar."
Antonio who had just entered into this game cannot believe that the stranger standing beside him was one of the most powerful players of Eternal Battlegrounds. He got the idea that something is wrong and that something is somehow related to him. He turned to face Leon and looked into his eyes. His hazel eyes shone brightly but Antonio could feel a certain coldness coming from them.
"What do you want from a newbie like me?" He inquired in a careless tone.
Leon frowned as he sat down on the bed to face Antonio. He snapped in an annoyed tone. "What do I want? I ask what did you achieve by dying at the hands of some street urchins?"
"I tried to escape but all my exits were blocked, and why do you care if I live or die?"
"Because everything matters, Antonio Weiss. Our lives are intertwined and connected with a thin string called, 'Dragon Knight'."
"Even if that's the case, I still don't care if our lives are intertwined. I will be soon out of this death game which wants nothing but my death."
Leon started laughing loudly as soon as he heard Antonio utter those words. Controlling himself, Leon said, "Ah, don't worry about leaving this place. You are just trapped inside it and it's none other than your fault."
Antonio gave a puzzled look, he didn't understand what Leon said to him. "Stop fooling around! I want to leave now," he growled.
"You are free to try but, you cannot leave this place since you died and triggered the system. And thanks to you, the other nine Dragon Knights include me are trapped in this hell." Leon exclaimed, his tone immediately changing from playful to serious.
Antonio got furious and picked up his ALTDEV from the small wooden table and opened the settings. He scrolled down the list of options and looked for the 'Log Out option. But, he wasn't able to find it. He panicked a bit but, tried to find the 'Log Out' option in other categories. He again glanced at Leon for a second and then immediately continued his search. At last, Antonio realized that he is trapped inside a game.
Leon kept his eyes on Antonio and saw his expressions change from annoyed to determined to panicking to afraid and finally to helpless. It somewhere amused Leon and he pitied the guy who woke up from a nightmare to enter into another one. Leon was aware that once the system was activated it cannot be deactivated. He stood up from the bed and started walking away.
Antonio was conscious that he would be left alone if Leon leaves right now. As he saw Leon leaving, he wanted to stop him but a lump formed in his throat as he tried to speak up. He kept staring as Leon left the place. Antonio again drifted off to his ALTDEV screen and tried to use the 'Heal' skill but, the device froze. Antonio angrily threw the device on the floor and it broke into several small glass fragments and vanished.
Antonio didn't know what to do as he lost his system, his freedom, and most importantly his reality. His belief, 'I was alone and will remain alone for eternity.' became his truth and a harsh one. He could even hear his heartbeat increasing rapidly in this virtual world.
Abruptly, a notification popped up in front of Antonio's eyesight. He got scared as he suddenly saw the notification out of nowhere. Antonio tapped on the notification and it opened up immediately. 'Leon Knight has sent you a friend request.' 'Will you Accept' 'Yes/No', it prompted. Antonio tapped on 'Yes' without any delay.
Another window heaves into view informing that Leon has been added to his friend list which was followed by a mail from Leon. It was addressed to Antonio informing him about a few things.
Antonio,
I am well aware of your condition right now and want you to calm down. I am a man of few words and cannot pull myself to console you but I wanted to. You are not alone, I, Luke, and the other Dragon Knights are with you. You should attend the Council of Dragon Knight that will be held in the city of Gelion. I am sending an amount of five thousand Kalvs, make sure that you buy the essentials and head for Gelion.
First, go to the bank and retrieve the Kalvs, then go to the Town Hall and get some quests before venturing out of the city. I hope you have an exciting and safe journey, I will be waiting for your arrival.
yours truly,
Leon Knight
Tears started flowing down Antonio's cheeks as he closed the mail. A minute ago he was cursing his miserable situation and didn't know his goal but now he know that someone was there to back him up and his goal was clear. Antonio got out of his bed and wore his clothes before leaving the infirmary. He hadn't figured out how to get access to the system or if he has a system or not. In the back of his mind, Antonio promised himself that he will only rely on his instincts even if the system is compromised.
As he was running towards the weapon store in the merchant area, a thought lingered in his head, "I am trapped and I still don't know how is it my fault but, I won't lose to this game and will find a way to defeat this game."
It took Antonio fifteen minutes to finally reach the weapon store, it was a small shop with glass windows and a wooden door for entrance. He entered the store and was astonished by the interior. Unlike the exterior, the inside was spacious and weapons were perfectly lined in rows, shields decorated the stone walls. Antonio felt as if he had entered a medieval era shop.
Antonio went near the counter where a dwarf was sitting leisurely reading a book and tried to attract attention by tapping on the wooden counter. The dwarf peeked from behind his book and asked carelessly, "What do you want kid, I am a little busy at the moment."
Antonio tried to match the careless tone of the dwarf, forced himself on the counter, and replied sarcastically, "I want to buy a weapon and armor."
The dwarf took an interest in Antonio as he saw him copying the tone and kept his book aside. He stood up from his seat and warned. "What is your price range, and better it be over two thousand Kalvs or I will be pissed."
"It is two thousand to three thousand Kalvs for the weapon and two thousand Kalvs for the armor."
"What kind of weapon and armor are you looking for?"
"What's the best you got under three thousand Kalvs?
The dwarf protruded his chest as he said, "I have three top quality weapons. Have you ever heard of crimson ore?"
Antonio scratched his head for information but, nothing came into his mind. He simply shook his head instead of saying no. The dwarf came out of the counter and signaled Antonio to come with him. The dwarf passed through the rows of lined weapons and went inside the other room and Antonio followed him.
The other room was smaller in comparison to the main hall and Antonio could see only three weapons that were kept inside three glass cases. The three weapons gave off a powerful aura as if they were forged with the god's blood.
The dwarf started to explain as he went near the first weapon which was a longsword. "There are different qualities of ore, used in forging weapons. Bronze Ore, Iron Ore, Silver Ore, Black Ore, Crimson Ore, Rose Red Ore, Fine Gold Ore, Black Gold Ore, and Mystic Gold Ore. Crimson ore is ranked at five in the quality hierarchy."
Antonio glanced at the three weapons, the longsword, the war scythe, and a pair of daggers. He went near the longsword and tried to touch it but, he felt a spark within his body as soon as he made contact with the longsword and a notification screen appeared before him. 'External force active, access to the equipment is restricted.'
Antonio immediately turned towards the dwarf and stared blankly at him. "Why the weapon gave me a shock when I touched it?" he questioned.
The dwarf chuckled before answering. "Money isn't the problem kid, it's the weapons. These weapons are made up of special quality crimson ore that can match the quality of a rose-red ore and it can evolve with its owner. In other words, these weapons are alive and one has to establish a contract with them before using them. They can feel what you feel, react to your emotions and even talk to you via feelings."
"This means that I am not cut out to use the special grade longsword?"
"The answer is no, you cannot equip it. But, I will let you try the other two weapons and if you successfully establish a contract with any of them, I will let you have it for free."
Antonio sighed heavily before moving onto the daggers and tried to get hold of them but, he immediately felt the same spark flowing through his veins. And he received another notification from the unknown system, 'Cannot equip the weapon due to class restriction'.
Without wasting a second Antonio moved towards the last weapon which was a War Scythe. As he reached near the third weapon, he became intrigued and felt as if the weapon was calling out his name. Antonio shut his eyes before touching the scythe and to his surprise, he was able to pick up the weapon without getting another shock.
A panel appears in front of Antonio informing him that he successfully equipped the War Scythe followed by another window that said, 'Would you like to name the Crimson War Scythe?'
Antonio tapped on the 'Yes' button and typed in a name that intrigued him from his childhood, a name that was once the symbol of power, and clicked on the 'Confirm' button.
"You have successfully changed the name of 'Crimson War Scythe' to 'Titan Kronos'." the system informed.
The dwarf was happy rather than astonished as he somewhere knew that Antonio would be chosen by one of the weapons. Antonio immediately started searching for an ideal armor and soon found a perfect fit.
"I want this set of armor. How much does it cost?" Antonio pointed towards a black half-plate armor.
"Around three thousand five hundred Kalvs" the dwarf said.
Antonio paid the price of the armor and went to an item shop to buy healing salves and antidotes. He also brought a leather waterskin and headed in the direction of the administration area.
Unlike the merchant area, Administration Area was much more planned and every building was two storeys high. This area was the center of all the important works that took place inside the city.
The Administration area was sprawling with players and Non-Player Characters as the main buildings like the Bank, the Town Hall, and the King's Palace.
After a journey of another twenty minutes, Antonio finally reached his destination, The Town Hall. The building was situated in the center of the Administration Area and consisted of three-storeys. It was built up of black stone and gave off a grand look from the outside.
One could see the King's palace from the Town Hall. It was white and the sigil banners were laid on the walls of the palace. Antonio gave a glance at the Royal Palace and then turned his head in the direction of the Town Hall.
He unsheathed the War Scythe, 'Titan Kronos', and clenched his fingers around it. "Time to get on our first quest. Are you ready, Kronos?" he asked softly.
Antonio felt a vibration from the scythe as if it was saying, "Let's go for it!"
Antonio nodded and sheathed the scythe behind his back. Taking a deep breath he finally ventured inside the Town Hall to receive his first quest.