01 Rebirth and Countdown!
The emotionless mechanical voice echoed in his mind, bringing with it a sense of familiarity that shook his heart.
"Character pattern creation... Creation complete."
"Monster template creation in progress... Construction has been completed."
"Player pattern creation... Creation complete."
"Career system under construction..."
"Task system under construction..."
"Game rules injected..."
"World digitization begins..."
Then, the voice continued its report, announcing the progress that was being made.
"Current progress: 1%... 2%... 3%... 5%... 21%... 34%... 57%... 82%..."
"..."
...
Arthur seemed to hear a voice coming from somewhere in his head. He didn't know where the voice came from, but every word that flowed into his mind felt so clear, so real.
Slowly, his consciousness began to return and then, he woke up again.
Arthur, who looked like a newborn, seemed to have just woken up from his sleep, still dazed, staring blankly at his surroundings. His eyes, which no longer had eyeballs but shone with a faint green flame, opened. His vision was blurry for a moment, before slowly focusing.
Then, the first thing that greeted him was the sight of a dead world.
The sky above was cloudy and gloomy, covered in gray fog that moved slowly like lost spirits. The air felt cold and silent, as if life had long since left this place. There was no sound of birds, no wind, no signs of life.
The expanse of ruins stretched as far as the eye could see. Collapsed buildings, half-destroyed pillars, and the ground full of battle scars. Broken rocks and wood were scattered everywhere, mixed with something more terrifying—scattered bones without any clear shape.
The skeletons of humans and other creatures lay silently on this barren land, as if proof that life had once existed here… before being mercilessly wiped out.
However, the most surprising thing was… himself.
Arthur lowered his head, and what he saw instantly confused his mind.
—His hand.
It wasn't a human hand.
Instead, all he saw were neatly arranged white bones, without flesh, without skin. In fact, when he raised his hand and moved his fingers, the sound of bones rubbing together could be heard softly.
The chest that used to contain a beating heart was now just an empty cavity. No blood flowed, no breath came out.
He…
"I became a skeleton!?"
Arthur was stunned
Feeling everything in front of him, his heart became a little confused by the current situation.
But before he could digest this situation further, the mechanical voice echoed in his mind again.
"The digitization of the world is over."
"... "
When he heard this voice again, Arthur was shocked. The confusion, doubt, and many other emotions in his heart also disappeared, and all that was left was shock.
"This is... a system command?"
He was familiar with the voice that came from nowhere. The voice was so distinctive—flat, emotionless, and clear. Every Second World player was familiar with this voice.
Because… This was the voice of the Second World game system!
[Second World] is a game with a world of swords and magic with absolute freedom for players as its principle.
From the moment you enter this game, a smooth mechanical voice without the slightest emotion will accompany every player!
Arthur froze.
Various memories from his previous life began to emerge in his mind. Memories of the real world, the game that changed the world, and how it all ended in destruction.
This thought made his chest—if he still had one—feel tight.
"Second World..."
"Could it be…..."
With a move in his heart, Arthur seemed to think of something, and said in his heart,
"Attribute panel"
And in the next moment, a translucent attribute panel appeared in his field of vision in an instant!
______
[Name] : Arthur
[Race] : Undead Race - Skeleton
[Level] : Level 1 (0/100)
[Status] : Life 8, Magic 15
[Attributes] : Strength 0.7, Agility 1.2, Constitution 0.8, Spirit 1.5
[Talent] : Necroclaim
[Skills] : None
Public Beta Countdown : 90 days, 13 hours, 24 minutes
--------
Arthur read every line of information carefully. Except for the player template and monster template, the attribute panel that appeared in front of Arthur was not much different from the attribute panel he once had.
"No... Could this be a rebirth?"
When he came to this conclusion, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
However, one thing was for sure—
He still had memories from his previous life. And that meant... he knew what would happen in the future.
Row by row, he scanned the attributes he currently possessed, and Arthur's eyes finally stopped at the bottom of the attribute panel.
"Public beta countdown: 90 days, 13 hours, 24 minutes"
"I mean, I was reborn from ten years later to the present when "Second World" had not yet opened, and from a player in the real world to a skeleton in the game world?"
Although he was still shocked by his current situation, Arthur sorted out the information in his head, and came to several conclusions:
1. He changed from a player to a monster, and naturally lost the player's ability to revive indefinitely. "Second World" was the real world, and once he died, he was truly dead.
2. With his status as a monster, he automatically became an enemy of players. If he were to meet a player in the future, they would most likely attack him immediately.
3. There were still three months before the public beta countdown. In other words, before the official players arrived, he still had three months to develop.
4. I had returned to the present ten years later, and "Second World" had not yet officially opened, which meant that the game had not yet started, and players had not yet invaded.
Arthur swallowed—or at least, he tried to.
Ten years later, when the reality of the game reached a certain level, the sleeping gods awoke. The worlds were connected, and the gods would come. Even with a decade of growth, the players were still no match for the gods.
When the gods above all living things descended and appeared in the real world, the players tried to survive. They fought with all their might, using everything they had. However, one by one they were all destroyed
-But in return, not even the players could finish off a single god!
And then… The world shattered into pieces and turned into ruins!
The powerful beings fled to other realms, more and more… but they were exterminated just before the world's destruction, and they turned into undead in this ruined place.
And Arthur…
Even if he had become a legendary player at level maximum , when that moment came, the only thing he could do was flee to the corners of the world, enduring the endless pursuit of the gods' camp and eventually die.
But now…
Now he has a second chance. Arthur stared at the public beta countdown number on his attribute panel.
"Hahahaha....."
Suddenly, he laughed. Not because of happiness, nor because of madness.
But because of understanding.
"This is not the countdown to the public beta... but the countdown to the destruction of the world!"
With the experience of his previous life, Arthur knew better than anyone how terrifying the gods were.
Not to mention now, even if the peak strength of the players in the previous life increased tenfold and a hundredfold, it was still impossible to be the opponent of the gods!
The destruction of the real world is inevitable.
That is to say, as the countdown to the public beta of the extraordinary game "Second World" begins... In the real world, the countdown to destruction has also begun!
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Note: This is a story where the mc grows step by step from a skeleton in the game, fights against the players who eventually invade the game and eventually evolves into the Lord of Undead, who brings the natural disaster of the undead to all levels of society