Dead...
They were all dead.
"I-I...."
She tried to speak, but no words came out.
The thick aroma of blood-stained soot wafted through the air, causing the girl's body to tremble unendingly.
"H-how?"
Near the entrance of the grasslands under the beaming blue sky, which moments ago gave unending warmth was now corrupted by a chilling sensation.
Her party, her companions, and her friends had died right in front of her eyes with no resistance whatsoever.
It was like a dream.
One moment they had finally defeated the Fanged Rabbit with much effort and now...
All in a flash of black her party was beheaded, without the ability to even scream out in pain..
Yet, now to her horror, their bodies began to flake away as if being eaten by an invisible entity.
"W-why?" was all she could tremble out as only a moment later she was left alone in this bare field.
The Fanged Rabbit that her party had just celebrated defeating, now left as the only reminder of their presence.
Yet, as soon as those words escaped her lips she felt a presence behind her, "For the experience of course."
At that moment the ground began to come closer and everything went dark.
The source of this scourge was, of course, Crow.
Now left alone in this area he smiled to himself as the body of his latest victim was quickly devoured by these mysterious black boxes.
A refreshing feeling washed over him as he took another look at his Status.
[Crow]
[Race: ❏❐▊❑]
[Occupation/ Class: ◤⫸△▆ ]
[Realm: 0]
[Stage: 8]
[Source: ◤⫸△▆ ]
"Almost." He murmured to himself as he left the area in search of new prey.
.
.
.
[Yet, unbeknownst to him in the real world outside...]
In a large bedroom with marble floors, a gleaming golden chandelier hung from the ceiling, and exotic art pieces lined the snow-white walls whilst an extra king-sized bed lay in the middle.
Lying atop this bed was a figure who lay over 6'10ft (2 meters) tall and appeared to be in a deep sleep, yet at that moment.
"Gah!!"
A man's eyes shot open as his upper body sprung up from his bed, quickly grabbing onto his head and groaning in exhaustion.
The man's hand felt the cold metallic sensation of the helmet atop his head and squinted his eyes, 'What... what happened?'
The man's shoulder-length blonde hair hung down to his shoulders and clung to his sweaty forehead.
A foreboding sensation arose in his heart and so without delay, he removed the virtual helmet and jumped out of his bed, revealing his bare muscular body with thighs the size of tree trunks and biceps the size of a human brain as he quickly dressed himself and left his bedroom.
The man made a mad dash down the luxurious hallway decorated with gold, jewels, and other precious materials, causing the maids and butlers in the vicinity to quickly move out of the way of this speeding boulder.
BOOM!
A door was kicked open to reveal a bedroom similar to his own.
A look of panic and concern was stricken on the man's face as he rushed to the bedside of this individual.
In the sheets was a beautiful young girl who looked to be peacefully sleeping, yet this only made him worry more as he quickly checked the girl's pulse.
His eyes quickly calmed, 'She's alive.'
A feeling of relief washed over him, yet before he could process anything a buzz in his pocket alerted him to which he slowly and reluctantly answered the call once seeing the contact name, "Yes?"
"Magnus, you better have a good reason why my son isn't waking." The tone was filled with a contained anger that left no room for negotiation.
Magnus's eyes widened, 'So it wasn't just my sister but others in the party as well?'
Yet the call was only an audio one so he quickly regained his bearing and responded, "It must be the game sir, after having died in the game it will take a bit of time before he fully wakes up."
Magnus himself wasn't too sure of this, since he had yet to die.
Yet, the man on the other line wasn't fully pleased with the answer yet hearing that his son would soon wake up he harrumphed before hanging up the call.
That man was the father of Magnus' Dark Elf Teammate, and to say the family of those party members' of his held massive worldwide influence would be a serious understatement, yet if this strange condition was the case for all his members the question was, 'Why not me?'
Magnus pondered as he looked over his little sister who still looked as if she was gently resting.
He racked his brain as the events of the past night played in his mind:
Following that strange NPC, getting ambushed by him, falling one by one, unlocking that class, and then running only to die.
Yet... 2 things stuck out to him.
1. That class he received was like a tempting whisper in his ear, to gain the power to avenge his teammates and soar to the top of the world.
Magnus's alongside his party's original intent is to use their power and influence to gain control of this new virtual world which was akin to the Wild West, and he had even paid a hefty fee to access as much insider information as he could.
Yet, most interesting of all is that sensation he felt when he accepted the terms for the power he received, a feeling washed over him and a locking sensation clicked onto his heart, one he still felt even now.
His servitude as a Berserker.
Yet, even then it wasn't enough for that slippery NPC and he was stabbed right at the very doorstep of the inn, but as he bled out he was saved by one of the NPCs with white robes casting a healing spell onto him soothing him into a deep sleep.
Sleeping in the game didn't necessarily mean logging out, so once he awoke in an inn bedroom and regained his bearings, he quickly logged out, and here he was now.
Now the 2nd thing that stuck out to him.
2. 'I was able to wake up, and have never heard of this penalty for dying in game...'
Magnus creased his eyebrows as he gazed at the innocent sleeping expression of his beloved youngest sister, 'Is it something to do with that NPC?'
.
.
.
[Meanwhile... in the Grasslands]
Crow had just finished killing his 3rd party of players.
Of course, they were all new, yet it was still fruitful for him nonetheless, as they were unprepared and unable to retaliate against his ambush.
Nonetheless, he checked his Status.
[Crow]
[Race: ❏❐▊❑]
[Occupation/ Class: ◤⫸△▆ ]
[Realm: 0]
[Stage: 10]
[Source: ◤⫸△▆ ]
_______________________
[Evolution Available]
Seeing this a smile arose on his face, 'Finally after so much effort it seems it pays off! Heh, maybe being an NPC isn't so bad.'
Seeing as how all evidence and traces had been wiped out by those dependable black boxes, Crow quickly left the scene and escaped deeper into the Grasslands fields whilst avoiding players who were searching nearby.
He could tell many high-level players had a degree of coordination and power that he was not yet ready to challenge, but finally, he made his way back to the familiar cave he had found before.
However, a new little piggy had made this cave its home after he left, yet with Crow's newfound power he swiftly took care of it before settling in and reopening his status.
[Crow]
[Race: ❏❐▊❑]
[Occupation/ Class: ◤⫸△▆ ]
[Realm: 0]
[Stage: 10]
[Source: ◤⫸△▆ ]
_______________________
[Evolution Available]
[Evolve Now?]
[Yes] [No]
A smile arose on Crow's lips yet before he could act a chilling sensation rushed down his spine and a chilling feminine voice called out from seemingly nowhere, "I wouldn't continue with your actions if I were you."
Crow's head quickly flashed ahead to see a ball of light traveling toward him.
The ball was the size of a small cantaloupe, yet the profoundness behind this very sphere was shocking and caused him to gulp, yet he maintained his composure.
Though this figure was strong, it had yet to harm him meaning either it was restricted or there was something it wanted.
Crow raised his eyebrow and feigned ignorance, "What do you mean, ma'am? I'm merely meditating and digesting my gains after a fierce battle against this cave's previous owner."
Despite the orb in front of him being circular with no facial features, he could feel the disbelief radiating from it.
"Hmph, still playing dumb, don't act like I don't know you're an infestation who must be terminated, seize your actions and kill yourself before I PERSONALLY take action!"
The orb's seductive voice turned into that of rage, yet Crow's eyebrows raised before he inwardly smirked, 'Kill myself? It seems my existence is stranger than I thought, but if I'm such a problem and someone of her stature hasn't already annihilated me that can only mean one thing...'
The boy's inward began to creep outwards as a mischievous air oozed from it, the orb detecting this shouted out as it rushed towards him, "STOP!!"
Crow's thought finished, 'You can't hurt me!'
Without any delay, he selected, [Yes]
WHOOOOOOOOOOSHHH!!
A flash of light filled his eyes!
.
.
.
Stars...
Stars for as far as they could see took hold in his vision as swirls of colors within the deep void and array of colors he had never before seen filled his mind.
It was breathtaking.
At that moment a voice filled his mind, "What is your Dream?"
Crow's eyes widened at this question, "My Dream?"
Yet as he floated through the beautiful void the voice rang in his mind again, "What is your Dream?"
The spiraling galaxies and streaking stars reflected off his obsidian eyes as he gazed at the scenery before him.
Expressionless he opened his mouth to answer, before stopping himself, "I... I don't know..."
"Then come back when you have the Answer."
With that, everything went white!
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