Paradox of the Olympian Gods is a video game that quickly gained popularity in only a month, selling millions of copies and gaining fans of equal numbers. Its main story revolves around Xingtian, a young god who was cast out of the heavens because he granted his abilities to mortals, whom the gods were going to exterminate, upon deciding that they were pests.
What made it extremely popular and a fan favourite was its semi story mode and sandbox mechanics, meaning players could choose to follow the main story or to just have a free play. Players could even create private servers, where they could invite other players and play with them as well.
Players were required to grind for items, fight for food and adapt in order to become excellent gamers. Nico was no different from the other players. He enjoyed the sandbox features more than the story but eventually, most players, like him, chose to follow the story instead.
There was one other addition that gave Paradox of the Olympian Gods a sense of uniqueness and entertainment and that was the interaction amongst the NPCs. Players could quite literally start families with the NPCs and even interact with them, each NPC with a unique story to tell.
But, the problem lied with what the story did with the NPCs. At random times, NPCs would die, either at the hands of the villains or by the catastrophic events that always unfolded during a fight.
Nico was now in the position of an NPC. He wasn't a main character, but now, he was a part of the story. This sent nothing but chills down his spine.
***
"Damn it... Damn it...! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" he constantly cursed at his reflection. "What the hell am I doing here?! And why did it have to be the one game where NPCs are mercilessly murdered?! Why?! Why?!"
He glanced around and noticed the decrepit buildings around him, along with the trash on the ground and the flickering street lights that were on during the day. The sky was light grey and a downpour of rain followed its grim colour.
Nico recognised the area. "Red Town..." he muttered. "Of course I had to be put in the worst spawn in the entire game...!"
That's when something clicked in his mind. He was in the video game, and much like the NPCs and main characters, he had a system. He slowly stood up and opened up his status screen in his mind. This prompted a red holographic screen with Greek key patterns to pop open in front of him. This screen was only visible to him.
{ Welcome, Vortex! Have æ2,000 for joining the game, courtesy of the devs!
Player: V-777 (Vortex_7)
LVL: 1
Race: Human
HP: 50/200
STR: 100/100
DEX: 95/95
CHA: 70/70
LUK: 10/10
Mana: 200/200
Value: #1579
Aestrol Coins: æ0.00
Location: Red Town
Companions: N/A
Weapons: N/A
Items: N/A
Abilities: N/A
°The information above is not entirely fixed and can be altered by completing various challenges, quests, events, and minor missions with or without tag players }
Nico squinted his eyes and furrowed his brows. "I don't see the... Ah, of course. Those two thugs must've taken them. This is why online servers were never recommended. You needed friends if you wanted to actually have fun."
He then looked at his left arm, where his health bar was located. Instead of being full and green in colour, it was almost empty and orange in colour. He took a deep sigh and opened the map.
"Looks like I'm not too far from an adventurer's guild. I should be able to get some basic equipment there, considering that I literally have nothing on me. But, where am I gonna get money...?"
Nico realised that standing out in the open wasn't going to do him any good, especially since he was vulnerable and buck naked. So, he decided to make his way towards the guild instead of loitering and risking getting hurt by other thugs, or worse, killed.
After walking for a couple of minutes, his feet began aching due to the cuts on the ground, uneven terrain and even a few glass shards. The longer he walked, the more dilapidated buildings he came across, each with a story of its own to tell.
Originally, Paradox of the Olympian Gods was an apocalyptic series, detailing how Xingtian saved the mortals by granting them his abilities and battling the gods of heaven before sealing them away.
But, as the story progressed, it became less and less about survival and more about killing whoever stood in your way. The gap between power and weakness amongst the player and their opponent became so vast that only the main villains could pose an actual threat.
'Vortex had 150,000 strength, 300,000 mana, and his overall HP was 250,000. Since I became Vortex, but I'm still Nico, I suppose I'm bound to be weaker; significantly weaker. I wonder if I'll be able to become as strong as him if I go about this situation the same way I would when playing the game, and that's by hunting monsters and beating bosses,' Nico thought to himself.
It wasn't a far stretch, considering that he was quite literally teleported into the video game itself. Nico's situation was so unsettling that it was almost laughable. "A shut-in gets transmigrated into an apocalyptic video game where players kill to survive." He could see the headlines already.
***
Nico came across an alleyway with a roof and took shelter from the rain while trying to catch a breath. So far, he hadn't encountered any enemies and that was good. He raised his left arm and checked his HP, still orange in colour, and released an exasperated sigh.
"It's been nothing but footwork lately. Though, I suppose that's better than coming across more thugs," he said to himself as he checked the map on his status screen. "The guild isn't too far from here. I'll be there in 40 minutes if I keep walking at my current pace. Couldn't hurt to walk a little faster though."
Right after he closed his status screen, he heard staggered breathing coming from the alley. His eyes traced towards the source of the sound. From the shadows, a man appeared. His clothes were ragged and torn, along with his shoes and the trenchcoat he garnered.
Nico was horrified at the overall appearance of the man. But, what frightened him more was the look on the man's eyes. His eyes were pitch black, devoid of any life and attachments. One thing was going through the man's mind and Nico was certain of what it was as soon as he saw the blunt knife in his hands.
"Kill..." the man muttered softly, his hands shaking. "If I kill you... my value will go up... I'll return to my rightful place in Staveforge..."
Nico's heart raced and he slowly backed away, his body being covered by the rain once again. The man slowly followed suit, his eyes shaking and his hands trembling. After staring into his eyes, Nico knew the man could not be reasoned with.
'What's with him talking about his 'rightful place in Staveforge?' Only rich dirtbags live there...' he said to himself.
Without a second thought, the man charged for Nico, his knife raised and ready to stab him. But, much to Nico's surprise, he managed to evade just a second earlier and ended up grabbing the man's arm. Then, he palm struck him in the chin, causing him to stagger back and lose his balance.
The man shook his head and screamed loudly before charging in once more, swinging his blade violently while Nico effortlessly dodged, surprising himself even as he did. The man became more and more agitated.
With a desperate cry, his knife began glowing in white and his eyes did the same.
'He's using magic enhancements?! No fair!' Nico exclaimed internally upon recognising the changing hue of the knife.
"You're dead meat!"
The man got close to Nico and his knife buzzed through the loud rain. Once he was close enough, he dug his blade towards Nico and drew some blood from his stomach region. The man smiled menacingly before coughing up blood.
His once lifeless eyes were suddenly full of it as he slowly faced the ground. Lots of blood was being washed away by the rain and his hands were completely clean. His stomach though, had a knife sticking through it. He looked at Nico with a shocked expression, only to find an equally shocked face on him.
Then, the man fell on his back and bled out, his blood being washed by the endless downpour. Nico inspected his hands and felt his stomach churn.
Similar to his new set of eyes, there was blood on both of his hands; blood that wasn't his own.
[ +1 Value has been added! ]