[Ding]
[Hello host, belated congratulations on your death]
Drake was more than enough of an otaku in his previous life to know the meaning of that ding.
The sentence said by the electronic female voice made him frown. He was in a dilemma about whether to be happy or curse the system for its words.
Oh yeah, by the way, he reincarnated, and this was his second life. But let's not mention unimportant things.
"Thanks, I guess. So System, or whatever you are, mind explaining yourself." Drake had hundreds of words to say, both PG and non-PG, but in the end, he just thanked whatever entity it was.
[Your Welcome Host, I am the Eldritch Nexus System.]
The system introduced itself, this time in a more feminine and less robotic voice.
"Your name is too long. Judging by your voice, you sound female, so I will call you Ivy," said Drake.
[Thanks, host, for the name. I don't have a gender, but I am changing myself according to your preferences.]
Ivy thanked him. Her voice started slightly robotic, but by the end, it was entirely feminine, like that of a mature elder sister, gentle yet seductive.
"Sure, now start explaining yourself." Drake ignored the change in her voice. He was more interested in getting his answers as quickly as possible.
[Yes, host. I am the only and the strongest artifact. I have been looking for a host to bind to for countless ages. When I finally found you, I immediately decided you would be my master.]
"Why me? I am sure you could find better candidates. I am not a moral person," Drake didn't believe pizza could rain from the sky.
[Host, it was never a competition to find the best host. It was all about compatibility. Of the countless beings I scanned, you were the one who was compatible with me. You were meant to be my host.]
[As for being moral, morality has nothing to do with it. My purpose is to make you the strongest; whether you are a hero in shining armor, a sick psycho who likes ripping babies apart, a background character, a hypocrite, or anything else, it doesn't matter.]
Drake again ignored that it sounded more like a declaration of love from the entity or system or Ivy as he named her and asked the following question.
"So, did you kill me?"
[No host, I didn't. I was waiting for countless ages for a host. It didn't matter to wait a few more decades, then after your natural death, I would take away your soul and bind with it.]
As if the Ivy knew what Drake would ask next, she continued.
[You didn't die a natural death, but from an accident. Since you didn't have fetters, I easily took away your soul.]
He thought that the system might be lying but reconsidered as he didn't feel any malice from it and thought that if it was telling the truth, there was no need for it to kill him.
"Ok, no problem. But was my medical condition related to you?"
[I apologize, host. But your soul was too weak to bind with me. A simple mistake could have damaged your soul to the point of no return. So I had to be very gentle when handling your soul, so I reduced your soul activity to bind with you properly. The binding was completed three days ago. Hence, you got full control of your soul.]
"Well, I apologize for my weak soul," said Drake sarcastically.
"Then why were you silent till now?" asked Drake.
[That's because I was waiting for the host to enter the main world, as contact in the previous world had no use.]
"Wait a minute! What do you mean by the main world?" Drake interrupted Ivy.
[Host, the world you are standing in is the main world.]
"I knew it. There was no way, even with current technology, to create a VRMMORPG game with 100% reality," said Drake excitedly.
[This world is infinite. Periodically, new worlds are added to it. Most of the time, they would be assimilated directly, but sometimes, some worlds have grace periods to make their assimilation easier. This can happen only in two ways: one is that they were lucky enough to be randomly selected for the grace period, or someone powerful intervenes.]
"So, the world I reincarnated to, is it lucky?" asked Drake seriously.
[No]
He laughed out loud and said, "Interesting, but so what? It has nothing to do with me. I just need to take care of a select few."
[Exactly host]
"Ok, enough boring talks. You claimed you are the strongest artifact, so can you make me the strongest quickly?" asked Drake, interested in what the system offered.
[Yes, host. I can make you the strongest within, at most, a week. Do you want that?]
"Hell no, what's the fun in that? I will go at my pace and enjoy my way to the top." declared Drake. With the system connected with him, he already understood how to leave, so he cut short the conversation and left. He came to enjoy it, and whether it was reality or a game, he intended to do so.
[As expected from the host I chose. But don't worry, host, I am here to assist you on your journey. I am sure you will like what I have prepared for you.]
—
Drake appeared in a bustling town square. He wore a simple cotton shirt, trousers, and a sword around his waist.
He looked around; the town square looked normal, albeit a few decades old.
It didn't look like a game but a real world. Of course, Drake ignored the fact that that world was indeed a real world and was about to assimilate his world. And why should he care? He was just there to play games.
Although the players' names were not floating above their heads, he could still identify many of them from their behavior.
"Sir, here are your 20 red mushrooms."
A player gave a packet to a food vendor.
"Ah, brave chosen one, thank you for your help in bringing me these mushrooms from the perilous Black Forest. Please allow me to repay for your valiant deed." A chubby-looking guy raised the player on a high horse by his praises.
"No, no, it was my duty," said the player humbly. However, he didn't look humble; instead, he looked bored, as if he had seen this scene a hundred times.
The chubby guy seemed satisfied with his response and said, "Chosen one, here are your three copper coins as a repayment for your valiant deed."
The player took the money and left, muttering, "Finally, I have enough money to afford tonight's meal."
'Different players, different problems.' mused Drake.
He saw the sun shining brightly, and there was no fog in the distance. It was because this was a territory.
The fog world was infinite and, as expected from its name, covered in fog. The fog hid many dangers, monstrosities, and weird creatures but was also filled with treasures.
It's divided into random-sized pieces called Fog Zones, and the Zones could teleport randomly, but that mostly happened at midnight. Of course, it might happen at other times, too.
The only way to lock a zone was first to conquer it and then establish a territory, which required an item called Fog Foundation Stone.
Territories came with various bonuses that increased with the territory level.
When first used, it created a Mortal Territory. It could then be leveled up to Extraordinary Territory, divided into low, mid, high, and peak stages, and even higher territory levels above Extraordinary.
The territory needed protection from the outside forces that got teleported nearby. Many territories were destroyed because an overpowered monster, like a dragon or even a god, randomly teleported near them.
The size of the territory could be increased either by leveling up the territory or by conquering the nearby zones, but this made leveling up the territory more difficult later.
A territory had two primary abilities. One was that it stabilized the nearby space, reducing the chance of it teleporting and, thus, the chances of some ridiculously strong entity teleporting back.
Another was that it could be used to make two types of compasses. It would always point in the territory's direction no matter how far, which was very important when exploring outside, as directions mean nothing in the fog world. Another type would point to the nearest territory, which might be dangerous as the territory might be hostile.
Both Fog Compasses were the same; the former was made by locking the coordinates of the territory in the compass and was called a Territory Compass.
The Black Forest Kingdom was one such territory. It was a Low-Stage, Extraordinary Territory, but it had conquered many nearby zones and increased its size many times. The territory was named after the Black Forest inside it.
Drake appeared in Falmise City, one of the starter cities, named after the Falmise Family, the strongest family in the city.
Most territories had little to no contact with each other. So, the coins the player got were only valid in the Black Forest Kingdom. They were divided into copper coins, silver coins worth 100 copper, and gold coins worth 100 silver.
He also had a small pouch with five copper coins, enough for one meal. The players needed to maintain hunger and thirst.
Only Fog Coins, dropped mainly by the monsters in Fog World, are valid everywhere.
The territory lord protected it against monsters, but some still sneaked inside, which was why the Black Forest had many dangerous monsters inside. The monsters killed by Jason were such monsters.
Drake looked around the place; he was looking for some quests that might give him enough money to purchase a Territory Compass to safely travel outside with no tension of getting lost in the fog.
He took several quests, like the Red Mushroom, Yellow Flower, Samr Herb, and other collection quests.
After roaming, he walked inside an inconspicuous alley with little traffic, hoping to find a rare quest. Or, more like, he just wanted a change of scenery.
While wandering inside, he felt something. Because he had fully controlled his soul, his perception was much better than before.
He suddenly stopped a hand nearing his pouch of money. The hand's owner moved back, quickly dodging him without allowing him to take a breath. Another hand neared his pouch, and he barely saved his pouch again.
The second figure approached the first figure, and they stood together.
Drake could see their form. Both were women and twins; the second one was blindfolded. The blindfold was red with blood, and her face showed traces of blood tears.
He wondered how she could see and properly aim for his pouch. Even more, why the hell were they standing there? They should either run away or attack him again to snatch his pouch, but they did neither.
He checked their status. All players had it, but it had level restrictions. His version could be used regardless of level difference.
Name: Ayame Murasame
Level: 0
Path: None
Skills: None
Mastery: Dagger (Beginner, Lv 3), Stealth (Beginner, Lv 5), Pickpocketing (Beginner, Lv 2)
Name: Yumi Murasame
Level: 0
Path: None
Skills: None
Mastery: Archery (Beginner, Lv 4), Stealth (Beginner, Lv 5), Pickpocketing (Beginner, Lv 1)
He would not be fooled by their level 0. Before starting on a path, all beings were level 0, irrespective of their strength. So, players used skills and mastery to get a rough idea of their opponent's strengths.
He could tell he was no match for any of them, not to mention both. Knowing his limitations, he took a diplomatic approach.
With a confident tone, he said, "I don't have much to steal. I only have five copper coins in my pouch. If you want, I will give it to you. How about you let me go then?"
Both thieves were silent as if they didn't hear what he said. They were just constantly watching him. The first one looked like she was scrutinizing him, and the second one, the second one showed hints of fanaticism.
'Are they cultists? I know this game has evil gods, and there are many cults for the said gods, but how unlucky can I be to meet two of them on my first day.'
*Sigh* He sighed deeply and decided to fight before dying. He didn't have any death penalty, unlike other players, but it still left a bad taste in his mouth to die so quickly after starting the game.
Just when he was about to unsheathe his sword, the second girl looked towards the first girl as if silently conveying her something. The first girl didn't look satisfied, but under the second girl's gaze, she made a face as if accepting her fate. The second girl showed a smile at that.
Then they did something that shocked Drake.
They knelt on the ground and said in unison, "My lord, please let us serve you. We will be your eternal loyal servants."