It had been a long day for both Rodensky and Emmanuel. They had spent hours leveling up their beasts, watching them evolve from hatchlings to juvenile stage, preparing them for the battles ahead. The night had come, and after a brief session, both players logged off, their minds still buzzing with the excitement of their recent progress.
Rodensky lay back on his bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought. The game had always been an escape, a place where he could forget the pain of his real life, a world where he could control his fate. But the recent changes in both the game and the world around them had left him unsettled. The strange creatures, the mysterious powers—he couldn't shake the feeling that something bigger was happening, something far beyond their control.
Suddenly, a soft chime broke the silence of his room.
The light of his phone screen flickered on, and as Rodensky grabbed it, his gaze immediately shifted to a new window that had appeared—an unfamiliar system panel that seemed to pulse with an otherworldly glow. The text on the panel was simple, but the words held weight.
"The version 2.0 of the game has been fully updated. Congratulations to the host for awakening the system."
Rodensky blinked in confusion, and then another message appeared:
"Starting the awakening of the bloodline. The host will be in excruciating pain during the awakening."
Rodensky sat up abruptly, his pulse quickening. His heart raced as the words sunk in, but before he could process further, another message flashed on the screen:
"Rodensky awakened the elf bloodline, granting him a 50% boost in speed/agility and a deeper understanding of spirit and beast. A passive skill has been activated: when near trees, the host will heal faster, the healing speed increasing the more trees nearby."
Rodensky gasped, his breath catching in his throat. A bloodline? Healing speed near trees? It didn't make any sense, but at the same time, it felt real—too real to be a mere glitch or an anomaly.
He quickly looked up at his phone and noticed another message—one that seemed to be connected to his friend, Emmanuel. Without thinking, he tapped his screen to call Emmanuel.
The phone rang once, twice, and then Emmanuel's voice came through.
"Yo, Rodensky, what's up?"
Rodensky didn't waste any time. "Emmanuel… do you see it too? The system?"
Emmanuel's voice faltered for a moment. "What system?" There was a pause, followed by a rustling sound. "Wait, hold up… You mean this thing?"
Rodensky's heart skipped a beat. It sounded like Emmanuel had seen the same thing.
Before Emmanuel could say anything else, a message appeared on the screen in front of Emmanuel:
"Emmanuel awakened the Vampiric bloodline, granting him control over blood. He now has a 50% chance to steal the skills of someone whose blood he has consumed."
Rodensky's mind raced. Bloodlines? Elfic? What was happening?
"Wait, wait, wait," Emmanuel's voice cut through his thoughts. "I just got a message saying… I've awakened the Vampiric bloodline? Control over blood? Does that mean I can, like, control people's blood? And… steal their skills?"
Rodensky's thoughts were in turmoil. The pain—the awakening of the bloodline—they had both felt it. His heart ached with the idea that something had changed in their bodies, something that no longer fit the reality they once knew.
He took a deep breath, trying to focus. "This isn't just a game anymore, Emmanuel. This is real. You've got power over blood. I've got enhanced agility and a healing ability near trees. I don't even know what that means, but..."
Emmanuel laughed nervously on the other end. "You mean we've become more than just players? This is like—like we're part of the game now? But what the hell is going on? Why now?"
Rodensky shook his head, his thoughts whirling in a chaotic mess. "I don't know… but we need to figure this out. Whatever this system is, it's not just a game update. It's affecting us, the world. We need to investigate."
As they spoke, Rodensky suddenly felt a sharp pang of pain shoot through his body, and he gasped, clutching his chest. It was as if every nerve in his body was on fire, his muscles burning with intense agony. The pain was unbearable, and he had to force himself to breathe through it, gripping the edge of his bed as he tried to steady himself.
"Rodensky? Rodensky, what's going on?" Emmanuel's voice crackled in worry. "Are you okay?"
"I—I'm fine," Rodensky lied through gritted teeth, his voice strained. "Just… just wait a sec."
The pain continued to surge through him, but as he concentrated, he realized something strange—he could feel a connection to the trees in his room. There was one outside his window. The pain began to dull, and he could feel his body healing at an accelerated rate. It wasn't much, but it was enough to calm the panic rising in his chest.
The pain subsided slowly, leaving him exhausted but unharmed.
"Rodensky? What the hell was that? Did you—did you feel that?" Emmanuel's voice was filled with panic now.
Rodensky nodded weakly. "Yeah. The bloodline is… it's real. It's happening."
"Damn, Rodensky, this is insane. We need to figure out what the hell is going on before… before it gets worse," Emmanuel said, his voice trembling slightly with the weight of the situation. "But what does this all mean? I'm controlling blood, and you're healing by trees. Is there a reason we got these specific bloodlines?"
Rodensky looked out of the window, his mind racing. "I don't know, Emmanuel. But I feel like we're not just players anymore. We're part of whatever this game has become. And if we don't figure it out soon… I think we're going to be in a lot more danger than we ever imagined."
As the system panel glowed faintly in his vision, Rodensky knew one thing for sure: the game had crossed over into the real world. And it wasn't just the world that had changed—it was them, too.