The mysterious figure in black raised his right hand, open palm, then clenched it forming a fist. Moments later some big, green, ugly monsters of both genders appeared in a group, they attack what was known as a peaceful village.
Not long after, screams, fright, and panic surrounded the area; this was a massacre. Children cried for their mothers, women were humiliated right in front of their daughters, and some men trying to fight back were executed in the most disgusting and brutal way.
From the west side of the village, a man stood in front of his wife and son, trying desperately to defend them. However, he knew it was pointless; he just had to do it.
"AAAAAHH!!!" With determination in his eyes, he ran forward, holding a broken piece of iron. He pointed it towards one of the monsters to pierce its heart but was overwhelmed by their brute strength. They pinned him down, head first, onto the ground.
"I... I'm sorry..." he said, with tears accumulating around his eyes as he was about to witness the pure tragedy of what was to happen to both of them. Did fate give them a life where they would end up like this, or maybe not...
Before the huge green monsters could engage, they paused and then looked forward slowly, raising their heads. "Why... did they stop... what are they looking at..." The family of three followed the monsters' eyes.
The silence was now filled with the sound of soil crackling underfoot. The man became even more frightened, his eyes wide open after a menacing-looking figure in black and a dark brown undercover scarflike cape emerged from the darkness of the small cave.
"Well, let's test it, shall we?"
Was this encounter a sign of hope, or had they just met the incarnation of darkness itself...?
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Death-Parallel-World-Online-Role-Playing-Simulator, or so-called D.P.W.O.R.P.S. for short, used to be one of the top-tier games in the fantasy genre. However, in the blink of an eye, it faded into the shadows and became difficult to find on the Internet.however hope wasn't lost.
It had its fair share of minor complaints; for example, the game's difficulty was set to maximum hard mode with no options for easy or even normal mode. Only gamers with balls of steel can engage with it.
D.P.W.O.R.P.S. is, in detail, an online VR fantasy game with incredible features to choose from and explore. First, there are different creatures and species, either dangerous (devils, demons, rouge monsters, werebeasts) or not (humans, elves, beastkin/dragonkin, espers),and so many other world beings but it's not certain about their hostilities.
That's not all; the game's map seems to be 100 times bigger than the equivalent mile of the real world. This is where it gets interesting: players who like to adventure into the unknown consistently enter various landscapes. However, this was a small fraction of what's to come...
In the outskirts of the thick forest, around a sad graveyard surrounded by distant fog and an old-looking abandoned mansion at the center of it all, a single male figure stood outside.
The figure, in detail, seemed intimidating. His long-sleeve medieval top, leather gloves, long pants, and boots, along with a villainous-looking helmet that covered his face with a horizontal lining for his eyes, and an oversized scarflike cape that covered his neck, were all entirely raven black.
What he chose for his character is known as a dark paladin—a half-dead shadow warrior that is unique for the essence of dark magic. Class: Emperor
The look itself seemed to be like a final boss type, moreover players can customize their characters acquired from their class type freely.
That's how the game works: the free range of those classes includes [Rare class: warlord, overlord, titan, sage, and emperor] and [Unique class: mage, knight, martial arts, free range], but to earn these titles, you must do more of your chosen class.
At the front door, he crouches and puts his right palm onto the ground. Then, a small blue magic circle appears beneath him and a yellow one behind him; this is where a female shadow demon gets summoned.
She has elf-like ears, tinted brown skin, is a little short with long silky dark hair, and has crimson reddish eyes. She wore an oversized black robe with a dark brown dress underneath.
"You've called, Lord Meraki," she spoke with speech bubbles but was audible with a female voice,no mouth movement animation.
"Sora (shadow demon)... I want you to accompany me."
"Yes..." she slightly bowed.
"What was the command again? ... Follow." They both began walking to the entrance of the mansion. Not long after, they reached the huge double doors, which opened automatically, so they entered.
It was a feature he built for security reasons. Although based on that, Mekari only partially built half of the mansion's interior; the other half got help from his crazy builder friend. It consists of 20 rooms: 10 below (throne room, 4 washrooms, dining hall, meeting room, 2 guard rooms), 5 upstairs (4 bedrooms and a sealed room), and 5 underground (4 treasure rooms, combat arena).
The footsteps became quiet as they approached the other automated double doors, which were gold in color with a horse decoration. It opened slowly, revealing a long red carpet and three large pillars on each side,Big knight statues holding a sword at each of the four corners of the room, with a throne on a small raised platform.
Meraki stands in front of the throne, where Sora stopped and stood to the side of the red carpet.
"I think it's time for me to get some rest. I've already checked the traps and fixed most of the damage done by rogue beasts..." He yawned, opening the menu in the top right corner of his view. But as he pressed the log out button, nothing happens.
"Huh... what's going on? Why is it not working? A glitch?" He continuously pressed it in a panic, but he was still in the game.
Suddenly, for that fraction of a second, the background turned red and then back to normal. "What... was that just now?" thought Meraki.
He tried another attempt to log out, but "It's gone! The log out button—where is it?" he exclaimed, confused.
"Don't tell me...."
However, it seems that not only is the log out button gone, but all the built-in settings of the game, status information of his own, and the gear appraisal are missing.
"Are you serious..."
"No, maybe this might be a dream—" he paused and then stared at his legs.
"This sensation... this is too real to be a dream... does that mean it's reality?" He looks at Sora.
"W-what...?" Sora has a confused look.
"She now has animation.....but how?"mekari thought.
Meraki approached her and began to stroke her cheek and hair. Then he accidentally touched her ears, causing Sora to let out a slight "nkya!"
"Nkya...?"
"I-i-i meant to say Lord Meraki," said Sora, trying to change Meraki's thoughts about what he heard.
"This is real!!!!!!!" thought Meraki.
"!?"
"Never mind, and sorry, I was checking if you were..." Meraki thought of a way to avoid being suspicious.
"A spy... a spy, yeah. You know they can be around this mansion." He seemed flustered, but not so much because of the helmet mask.
"Spy... ah, I see. Don't worry, Lord Meraki, I'm not a spy... in fact, you can also order me to be one if you allow it," said Sora, with pure loyalty in her eyes.
"No, it's OK..." Meraki placed his fingers stroking the chin of the helmet. "I guess if this is true..... I'll have to test a few things..."
"Sora"
"Yes, my lord," she bows her head slightly, her right hand on her chest.
"Go outside and monitor the surroundings again."
"Yes!"
"This is way too much for me to process, but I'll just accept half of it and see what happens going forward"
The game he plays is no more, but rather a new chapter to a new beginning; however, there will be unique possibilities and challenges that await....