71-84

71 CHAPTER 70- RITUAL WENT WRONG

"Soul pact?" Zach uttered with his voice full of confusion. "Isn't that the pact where two people swear loyalty to each other or something?"

Aria was surprised to see that Zach was aware of the meaning of the soul pact. She nodded and said, "Yes."

"Why would I form that pact with you… wait a minute…" Zach furrowed his brows and squinted his eyes at Aria before asking, "Don't tell me you are still planning to stay at my party."

"Am I not allowed to?" Aria wondered.

"Why would I let you be in my party now that I know who you are?" Zach waved his hand at Aria and said, "Go back to your domain. Shoo."

"I have heard that the players can get out of this world if they beat the angels and later the gods. Is that true?" Aria asked curiously.

"That's what they said." Zach shrugged his shoulders and added, "But… I have trust issues."

"If there is a possibility that I can get to kill those filthy traitors, then I will be damned if I miss this golden chance," Aria asserted with a furious look on her face.

"Can't you just go and kill them in your world? I mean… isn't that the simplest solution?"

"I wish I could. But unfortunately, I can't even enter the heavenly realm, so there is no way I can enter the divine realm where the gods exist."

"I thought you were supposed to be strong," Zach commented in a low voice.

"I am… strong. But I can't win against my own powers," Aria uttered in a disdainful tone. "Not without your help."

Aria was one of the two sisters who the gods exiled by voting and threw them somewhere far away.

Aria was the one who contributed everything to create the humans, worlds, realms, skies, and everything between them. Including all the powerful security mechanisms to protect the heavens from the greater evil or entity who could endanger heaven by invading it.

Aria did all that with her sister when they were in their prime state. Now, however, millions of years have passed, and she lost her main source of power— that came from heaven. She hasn't grown weak, but the gods have gotten powerful.

Even if Aria managed to bypass everything and kill all the twelve gods, she was no match for the higher gods who created her. That's why, she needed Zach, who was similar to her.

Of course, she couldn't tell all this to Zach yet. She thought Zach wouldn't help her if he got to know that she was the one who created the gods.

Aria wanted to gain Zach's trust first, and that's why, she chose to enter this death game— Gods' Impact as a player. However, it backfired.

"Listen, let's forget our first meeting and start a new relationship as a companion," Aria asserted. "What do you say?"

"Before I answer, I want to know the reason why you are so… what happened to you? You are acting a little… different."

"What do you mean?"

"Uhh.. right. You are acting like Ameria. Stop acting all meek," Zach snorted. "It doesn't suit you."

"I am not acting meek. I am acting sincere— I mean, I am being sincere," Aria retorted.

Zach pondered for a while and said, "Well, I still don't trust you 100%, but if we are forming a soul pact, then you won't be able to betray me."

"So… am I officially joining your party now?" Aria asked with a curious and excited look on her face.

"I know you are strong, and you will be a good addition to my team. So yeah," Zach nodded. "Welcome to the party."

"Umm, your party doesn't have a name?"

"Not yet. But we can discuss that with Aurora tomorrow."

"Alright. So let's start the ritual?" Aria asked Zach to confirm.

"I am ready."

Aria smirked under her breath and started chanting something. After a few seconds, a purple magic circle appeared on the floor and covered the entire room.

"Let's make it a 50:50 pact. It's equal for us both, okay?" Aria asserted.

Zach didn't say anything and nodded in response.

Aria once again started chanting something, and the color of that magic circle changed to green. Then, the magic circle began to rotate, and another magic circle appeared that covered Aria and Zach's bodies.

After that, a white thread came out from the magic circle around their bodies and connected with each other.

"It's almost done," Aria stated. "Now, repeat these words after me."

"Okay."

Aria started chanting the spell, and Zach repeated after her. Everything was going well until the green magic circle repeatedly started changing colors.

"What's going on?!" Zach asked.

"Oh, shi—" Before Aria could say anything, the entire room was enveloped by a bright light that blinded both Zach and Aria.

After a few seconds, Zach opened his eyes and saw Aria on her knees. Her face was pale, and it looked disappointing, as though she was fed up with her life.

'She is making the same face she was making when I saw her for the first time in her domain,' Zach thought.

"What's happened?" Zach asked with a curious yet calm look on his face. "Was the ritual unsuccessful?"

"It was successful," Aria uttered in a monotonous tone.

"Then what's wrong?" Zach asked in a relieved tone.

"I forgot that I currently have only 10% of my powers."

"And…?"

"The pact was altered because of that," Aria answered.

"What changed?"

"Instead of 50:50. Now it's 30:70 with you at the 70," Aria informed in a disdainful tone.

"So… does that mean… I am your…"

Aria gazed at Zach with a fierce glare in her eyes and said, "Don't say it."

Zach ignored Aria's warning and said, "Does that mean I am now your master?"

Aria bit her lips and continued glaring at Zach before uttering, "Yes."

****

Total players in the game 410469.

0 new players logged in.

32 players died.

====

[Weekly Quest.]

===

Author's Note- What a fantastic twist.

GG to Zach.

F for Aria.

72 CHAPTER 71- MASTER AND SERVAN

"Wait, really?!" Zach exclaimed. "I am your master now?!"

Aria was barely keeping her anger on hold, and Zach was trying his best to make it explode.

"As much as I hate to admit it. Yes, you are my master," Aria said in a respectful tone.

However, she was furious from inside. She wanted to unleash her rage and go on a rampage, but there was nothing she could do.

'It's my fault this happened,' Aria thought to herself.

"So…" Zach raised his brows and uttered, "I can make you do anything?"

Aria nodded with a glare in her eyes.

"And I can order you to do anything I want? Like…" Zach moved his gaze to Aria's breasts and inspected her body with his eyes.

Up until now, Zach never got a chance to take a good look at Aria's body.

"What if I order you to do something you don't want to?" Zach asked with a curious look on his face.

"Unfortunately, I will have to do it," Aria replied.

"Okay then. Here is your first order…" Zach smirked and licked his lips before ordering, "Call me daddy."

Aria gritted her teeth and bit her lips. She glared at Zach and uttered," Dad…dy."

"Ew! That was so cringe!" Zach uttered with a disgusted look on his face.

"You are the one who made me say it!" Aria roared.

"That's because I thought it would feel… well, exciting. But I guess I was wrong," Zach stated.

'It's probably because of her expression. I mean, when 'she' said it, it was a pleasure to my ears.'

Once again, Zach remembered his ex-girlfriend.

"What are your other orders?" Aria asked in a disdainful tone.

"Hey, I am not some kind of monster… not right now. You can stand up."

Aria stood up and stared at Zach with a knowing look on her face.

"Can you go back to Ameria's form?" Zach asked curiously.

Aria nodded and changed her form to Ameria.

"Good. Stay in this form." Zach scoffed, "You will probably scare Aurora in your real form."

Aria raised her brows and said, "I see. You are a man, after all."

"Uhh… I was a man before that too," Zach uttered.

"You have taken a liking to that girl— Aurora, haven't you?" Aria asked with a grin on her face.

"Yeah, so?"

"I must say, she is indeed one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen." After a brief pause, she said, "I would rate her 7 out of 10."

Zach frowned his face and uttered, "How dare you say that. She is 10 out of 10."

"No. She is 7 out of 10."

Zach sighed in anger and said, "I order you to say Aurora is 10 out of 10."

Aria slowly opened her mouth and said, "Aurora is 7 out of 10."

Zach knitted his brows in confusion and muttered, "Why is it not working?"

"Did you forget this pact is based on loyalty? So you can't order me to lie or be unloyal to you," Aria asserted.

"So Aurora is truly 7 out of 10 for you?" Zach asked Aria in disbelief.

"Indeed."

Zach glanced at Aria from the corner of his eyes and asked, "Just curious, but how much would you rate yourself?"

"10 out of 10, obviously," Aria answered.

"I order you to tell the truth," Zach ordered ARia.

"My beauty is 10 out of 10," Aria said the same thing again.

"How?! No matter how I look at it, Aurora is clearly more beautiful than you."

"I am not denying the fact that she is more beautiful than me. However, my beauty is currently at 10%. If you ever saw my real body, you would forget all the girls and submit yourself to me," Aria said in a haughty tone and a smug look on her face.

"That sounds… dangerous. Remind me never to meet you in the real-life," Zach sneered.

After a brief silence, Aria asked, "How much would you rate me?"

"Hmm…" Zach pondered and inspected Aria's body once again.

"I am not trying to brag, but ever since I was born, I was surrounded by beautiful women— that too, otherworldly. So I can't really rate you based on them. Besides, it's not all about a girl's beauty for me."

"They could be ugly personalities behind their beauty," Zach added in a solemn voice.

"Agreed," Aria nodded.

Zach once again glanced at Aria from the corner of his eyes and asked, "Just curious, how much would you rate me?"

"Hmm~" Aria placed her hand on her chin and looked at Zach with an alluring gaze in her eyes. After inspecting him, she said, "2 out of 10."

Zach sighed and uttered, "I order you to tell me the truth."

"8 out of 10," Aria replied.

Zach's face twitched after hearing that for some reason. He scoffed in anger and said, "I will make you say 10 out of 10 one day."

"Over my dead body," Aria sneered. She snapped her fingers and said, "I rated you. Now rate me too."

"I already said I—"

"Just do it," Aria insisted.

Zach sighed and stated, "6 out of 10."

Aria was surprised after hearing Zach's answer, but she was disappointed.

"Unlike you, I cannot order you to tell the truth. So I would Like to know if you are being honest right now," Aria asked sincerely.

Zach nodded and said, "I swear on my father's name."

Aria bit her lips and said, "One day, I will make you say I am the most beautiful woman in the world."

"Dream on," Zach sneered.

Zach opened his menu and muttered, "Let's see if there were some changes in my stats after this pact."

Zach first looked at Aria's blessings and saw one more benefit was added.

[Telepathy]

(You can talk with Aria telepathically as long as she is in your sight.) (This ability can evolve depending on your relationship with the said player.)

"Useless…" Zach muttered and thought, 'But Maybe… one day I can use it on Aurora too?'

Then, he looked at the rest of his stats, expecting some changes. But his face turned pale when he saw a change in a certain stat.

His 'Marital status' had changed to 'Married'.

"You have got to shitting me!" he shouted.

****

Total players in the game 410437.

0 new players logged in.

32 players died.

===

Author's Note- Zach would probably be the first guy who is not happy about this marriage.

Press' C' to congratulate him or press 'F' for a rip.

Thanks, @Wesley_Tebbens1998, for the gift!

73 CHAPTER 72- SOULBOUND

"What's wrong?" Aria asked with a confused yet curious look on her face.

Zach showed his stat to Aria and pointed his finger at his 'Marital status'.

"Why is it showing married?!" he exclaimed.

"Hmm…" Aria pondered for a while and said, "It must be because of the soul pact. We are soulbond now, so maybe this game is registering as married?"

"Why aren't you freaking out then?!" Zach shouted.

"What's there to freak out?" Aria asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"You don't care if you are married to me?"

"Surely, it's not as impactful as I was when I found out that I was your servant," Aria sighed.

'What should I do?!' Zach wondered. 'I can't let anyone see this, especially Aurora.'

Zach turned to Aria and asked with a curious look on his face: "Can we annul the soul pact?"

"We can, but both of us need to agree on that," Aria replied.

"Then let's get divorced! I mean, let's break this soul pact," Zach asserted.

"Are you sure?" Aria asked with a judging look. "I am your servant right now. If you break the pact, then our relationship will be back to… well, nothing. And now that I know that…"

Aria stopped as her eyes widened in realization.

'Wait a minute. I am currently at 10% of my power. Does that mean Zach is more powerful than me in a 10% state? That's impossible!'

Aria furrowed her brows and uttered inwardly, 'Have I become that weak? Or… is Zach that strong?'

'Does that mean… he is hiding his true strength?' Aria wondered. 'How powerful is he?'

'If he is stronger than my 10% of power, and if our relationship now is at 30:70. Does that mean his power is the same as mine at 30%?'

Aria stared at Zach and wondered, 'Who are you, Zach?'

Aria's interest in Zach had piqued even more.

'What should I do?' Zach thought. 'I want to annul the soul pact, but I can't let this one in a lifetime chance slip by. I have Aria as my servant, but is it worth taking a risk?'

After pondering for a while, Zach had made his decision.

"Anyway!" Zach turned to Aria and said, "Aurora can not know about this, got it?"

Aria smirked at Zach in response.

"I order you to not tell Aurora about this," Zach ordered.

"Are you sure about that?" Aria asked. "Honesty is the first step to a healthy relationship."

"We are not in a relationship… yet," Zach stuttered.

"So, are you going to lie to her?" Aria remarked.

"I am not lying. I am hiding it for a few days," Zach retorted.

"What's going to happen after a few days?" Aria asked with a curious yet calm look on her face.

"We are going to clear up to the 50th or maybe more floors in the dungeon. I am close to reaching level 23, and Aurora should be close to hitting level 22," Zach asserted.

"We both will reach level 25 in a few days. After that…" Zach conjured the crimson sword in his hand and said, "I am going to gift this sword to her."

Aria's eyes widened after seeing that sword.

'Isn't that sword… no, there is no way that sword can be here,' Aria thought to herself.

"I still haven't told Aurora about me. I will give this sword to her and tell her everything about me— including this marital status. After that, I will let her decide if she still wants to be with me or not." Zach uttered in a solemn voice.

Aria smirked and asked, "Are you afraid of rejection? Aww~"

"I am not… I am afraid of being alone. If Aurora leaves me, I will…" Zach sighed.

Aria chuckled and said, "Yeah. Being alone is scary."

Aria had spent millions of years alone without meeting a single soul. She knew what loneliness felt like.

Aria snorted and said, "If she rejects you, you can come to me. I will give you a shoulder to cry and then make fun of you."

Zach raised his hand and showed Aria her fist.

"What?" Aria stared at Zach's fist with a puzzled look on her face.

Zach slowly raised his middle finger and said, "Eff You!"

After that, Zach left Aria's room.

At the same time, Aurora opened the door of her room and frowned her face.

'What was Zach doing in Ameria's room?' she wondered.

She had woken up to go to the washroom, but after seeing Zach leaving Ameria's room in the middle of the night, she forgot everything and went back to her room.

Meanwhile, Aria was still wondering what Zach was trying to convey by showing his middle finger.

'What does 'Eff you' mean?'

Aria needed some modern knowledge.

—

-

.

The next day, in the morning.

Aurora woke up a little late than usual, but he was still the first one to wake up in the house.

Aria woke up a while later after Aurora. She insisted on helping Aurora to make breakfast, but Aurora ignored Aira.

When breakfast was ready, Aurora knocked on Zach's door and woke him up.

When they all were eating breakfast together, Zach asked Aria to pass him some pepper.

Aria passed him the bottle without speaking a word.

Zach was going to sprinkle some pepper on his egg, but he stopped when he noticed Aria gave him the salt bottle instead of pepper.

"I asked for pepper," Zach groaned and glared at Aria.

Aria passed him another bottle with a smirk on her face.

After watching Zach and Aria, Aurora squinted her eyes and said, "You two seem to be on friendly terms now."

"I don't take idiots as my—"

Zach was interrupted by a message from Kayden.

He opened the message and read, [Come at the guildhall now! It's an emergency!]

****

Total players in the game 410250.

0 new players logged in.

187 players died.

====

I know, it's my fault for expecting something in return.

Thanks for reading.

74 CHAPTER 73- UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER

When Zach was eating breakfast with Aurora and Aria, Zach got a message from Kayden.

[Come to the guildhall! It's an emergency!]

After reading that, Zach immediately got up and said, "Something came up! You guys eat and come to the guildhall later. I will meet you there!"

Zach dashed out of the house and rushed to the guildhall.

Meanwhile, in the house, Aurora and Aira were alone.

Aria and Aurora glanced at each other, and their eyes met by accident.

Aria averted her gaze, but Aurora kept staring at her. She squinted her eyes at Aria and said, "Listen, I will get directly to the point."

"Hmm?"

"Is something going between you and Zach?" Aria asked with a straight face.

"W-Why would you think that?" Aria asked, acting meekly.

"I saw Zach leaving your room in the middle of the night," Aurora stated.

'What was that idiot doing?!' Aria thought to herself.

"Well… he…" Aria stuttered for a while and replied, "He mistakenly entered my room thinking it was his room."

"Oh…" Aurora nodded to herself and thought, 'It was his room at our previous house. So I guess she is telling the truth. I mean, what was I thinking? Zach would never do something like that behind my back.'

Aria had the option, to tell the truth or maybe even lie about something else that could break Aurora and Zach's relationship, but Aria chose to save Zach.

"Umm… can I ask something?" Aria was acting like Ameria.

"Sure, why not?"

"Do you… maybe… like Zach?" Aria asked.

Aurora's face flushed after hearing Aria's question. She quietly nodded and said, "Don't tell him. But yes, I love him."

"Why don't you make moves on him then?" Aria asked with a curious look on his face.

"What if… he doesn't like me back?" Aurora asked hesitantly.

"If you are worried about him not liking you or hating you for making moves on him; it's just like admitting defeat before fighting the battle," Aria asserted. "If you truly love him, then fight with all you have and win this battle."

"..."

Aurora didn't say anything and sat there in silence.

Aria furrowed her brows and said with a smirk on her face: "Or who knows, someone else might fight the battle and win."

"Huh? Are you saying that…" Aurora couldn't finish her sentence

"You are smart enough to understand what I mean. If you get cold feet, someone else might warm up Zach's body."

—

-

.

After running for 10 minutes, Zach reached the guildhall. He was still a little away from the guildhall, but he could see it in his sight.

Zach noticed that the guildhall was packed, and players were gathered inside and outside the guildhall.

"This looks serious…" Zach muttered.

Zach walked to the guildhall and glanced around to search for Kayden and Shay.

"Where are you… I hope everything is alright…"

After glancing around, Zach caught sight of Kayden.

"Hey, Kayden!" Zach called out to Kayden in a loud voice and waved his hand at him.

Kayden turned around and waved back at Zach.

"What's wrong?" Zach asked as soon as he reached Kayden. "Is everything alright? Did Shay do something stupid again?"

"No. It's—"

"Zach~"

Suddenly, a girl appeared from behind Kayden and hugged Zach.

Zach, of course, pushed the girl back and looked at her face.

"What are you— wait a minute!" Zach furrowed his brows and said, "Is that you, Misha?!"

"Yay! You recognized me!" Misha jumped in joy.

It was Misha, Kayden's step-sister, and also his fiance.

Zach turned to Kayden with a confused look on his face and asked, "What's going on? Why is Misha here?"

Kayden nudged \u003cisha and said, "Tell him."

"Well… you all bodies were delivered to your houses. When I saw it on the news about the VR incidents, I immediately patched myself with a VR set and a random game. And… I ended up in the game."

Zach face-palmed himself and rubbed his hand on his face in frustration.

"Why am I surrounded by stupid people?"

"When were our bodies delivered?" Zach asked Misha.

"10 days ago in the real world, so… around 20 days here," Misha answered.

'So mother knows about this?' Zach wondered. 'Maybe she can do something? But… she lost her powers…'

"What did you do after getting into this game?" Zach asked.

"I tried to find you guys, but I couldn't. But then I met my friends and joined their party. Then, we all joined a guild of my friends. After that, we played and played and ascended to the first realm two weeks ago," Misha asserted.

'That's way too fast!'

Zach raised his brows and asked, "What guild did you join?"

"It's called 'Risen warriors'. And it's the top 3rd guild of this game," Misha stated.

'I did read in the journal that joining a guild is the fastest way to level up and increase physique points,' Zach uttered inwardly.

"Still…" Zach sighed and smacked Misha on the forehead.

"Ow!"

"You shouldn't have done this stupid thing. What if something had happened to you?"

"But… I can't leave without Kay…" Misha uttered in a low voice.

"Well, as long as you are done. It's okay."

"Oh!" Misha exclaimed and said, "One more thing!"

"What?"

"My guild is about to ascend to the upper realm in a week. And my guild is full of my friend circle. How about you, Kay, and Shay join us?" Misha offered.

"Well…"

"Hey Zach," Aurora greeted Zach.

"Aurora! Nice timing!" Zach placed his hand on Aurora's shoulder and introduced her to Misha: "Misha, this is Aurora. And Aurora, this is Misha."

Aurora immediately frowned her face and asked, "And what is your relationship?"

'She turned on her jealousy mode!' Zach uttered inwardly.

"She is Kayden's sister," Zach stated. "And he is dating her."

"What?!" Aurora exclaimed and looked at Kayden with a disgusted look on her face.

"Step! She is my step-sister," Kayden corrected Zach and glared at him.

"Heh!" Zach snickered and said, "Yes, they are step-siblings."

"Yo, guys!" Shay finally appeared from the group and said, "Hey Zach. Did you meet our classmates? There are a lot of them."

"No, I haven't. But Misha did say lots of our… I mean, your friends are here."

Zach wasn't friends with anyone in the school except Kayden, Shay, and Misha. However, it wasn't as though he was on bad terms with others. He simply wasn't friendly with them.

"Nice! Everyone is here!" Misha clapped her hands and said, "So, let's have you all join the guild!"

"Uhh…" Zach wasn't sure whether he should join the guild or not.

"Everyone together! It will be so much fun!" Misha rejoiced.

"I… don't…" Zach glanced at Aurora to see her reaction, but she shrugged her shoulders in response.

'What should I do? The guild is in the top three, so they might have strong players.' Zach thought. 'I don't really want to join, but if I am surrounded by strong players, I can rest assured about Aurora. She won't be in danger.

'But… there will be rules and regulations in the guild. And I don't think I will be able to hide my secret if I join the guild.'

"Hey, Misha~" A female voice called Misha from the other side of the crowd.

"Oh, great! The vice-captain is here!" Misha glanced at Zach and said, "Now he will definitely join."

"..." Zach raised his brows and pondered, 'What does she…'

Kayden, Misha, and Shay walked to the other side of the ground and went to the empty place. While Zach, Aurora, and Aria were following them behind but they got stuck in the crowd.

After waiting for a while, the vice-captain approached the group.

She had dark-blonde hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a red and yellow-colored guild uniform similar to Misha, but her top was slightly different because she was the vice-captain.

She looked at Misha and said, "Where did you run off to…"

However, she stopped when she looked at Kayden and Shay.

"What are you guys…"

Even Kayden and Shay were surprised after seeing the girl.

"How can you guys leave me behind!" Zach yelled as he finally caught up with the rest of the group. "This is why I hate crowded… places…"

Zach's jaw almost dropped after seeing the vice-captain. He blinked a couple of times before confirming he wasn't seeing things.

His face showed varied expressions, and the girl was making a similar face as Zach. Both of them couldn't believe their eyes.

"Why… are you here…" they both uttered in unison.

"...Zach…" the girl uttered.

"Victoria…" Zach uttered.

Both Zach and victoria were surprised, but there was someone else who was as surprised— if not more, than them.

It was Aurora.

"Who is she?" Aurora asked in a low voice.

"She is his girlfriend," Misha replied.

****

Total players in the game 410219.

0 new players logged in.

31 players died.

===

====

Author's Note- Here comes the girlfriend.

I received too many suggestions for the name, but most of them were either already selected or used in my other novels. And it feels weird for two characters to have the same name. I will use the other names for other characters in the series.

75 CHAPTER 74- GIRLFRIEND

A world-class popular male idol who was famous for his looks, voice, and fashion. And a world-class popular female idol who was recognized for her beauty, personality, and body features.

Two top idols married each other and had a daughter, who had both of her parent's beauty and characteristics.

Her name was Victoria, and she was Zach's girlfriend.

She was a foreign transfer student who transferred into Zach's school for a semester because of her parent's work.

Everyone male and female students of the school were charmed by Victoria on the very first day. Of course, she started getting confessions from both girls and boys, but she rejected them all.

She had no interest in dating anyone, and she wasn't allowed to.

Her entire life was already set by her parents.

Victoria was going to walk on her parent's path to be an idol and achieve feats they couldn't.

That was until fate chose to cross her path with Zach, who was an arrogant and unfriendly guy.

When everyone was charmed by her beauty, Zach wasn't interested at all.

Of course, that wasn't enough for Victoria to get interested in Zach. In fact, he left a bad impression on her.

It wasn't until the school festive seasons started where students came to school less and participated in school events.

Everyone in their class, one way or another, was a couple. Some were regular couples, while some were simply sex friends who only searched for pleasure.

As one would have expected, Zach and Victoria ended up being a pair because their roll numbers were alternative to each other.

However, someone got jealous and uploaded a well-edited porno on the internet with Victoria as a girl in the video. It wasn't long before rumors started going around about Victoria being a slut.

Zach didn't care to bother about it as he also thought the video was real. However, some days later, the same person posted another porno where the man was Zach, and the girl was Victoria.

Zach got angry for the first time in his high school life.

He searched for the video uploader but couldn't find any lead. That's when Shay helped Zach.

Of course, Kayden and Shay were already friends with Zach long before that, but unlike other students, they didn't believe in the porno.

Shay and Kayden knew that Zach never lies to people close to him, no matter what happens.

After some searching, Shay traced the i.p of the uploader, and the culprit turned out to be their homeroom male teacher.

When Zach found out that the teacher once tried to break into Victoria's apartment, it didn't end well.

For some reason, the teacher went missing, and his body was never found.

After that incident, Zach and Victoria thought of dating. But there was one problem; neither of them had any knowledge or experience in dating, nor was there any love between them.

Thus, they always fought, and in the end, their relationship ended on an open note because they lost contact with each other.

However, both Zach and Victoria were currently sitting in front of each other in a cafe.

Aurora, Aria, Kayden, Misha, and Shay were sitting at a different table at some distance from Zach and Victoria's table.

Zach and Victoria stared at each other and didn't say a word.

"It's been nearly five minutes," Aurora commented. "Why aren't they talking to each other?"

Victoria broke the silence and said, "I thought you weren't into games. So what are you doing here?"

"I thought you went to mars. So what are you doing here?" Zach asked.

"Stop playing games, Zach. And answer me," Victoria uttered.

"I didn't know other planets also allowed VR games," Zach commented.

"So you were lying about 'I hate games', after all." Victoria slammed her hands on the table and said, "What else were you hiding from me? Were you ever honest with me?!"

Everyone in the cafe turned to Zach and Victoria and started whispering things about them.

Victoria clenched her fists and said, "Let's go talk somewhere else."

Victoria left the cafe, and Zach followed her.

After leaving the cafe, Victoria inserted two fingers in her mouth and whistled.

'What is she…'

A flying carriage landed in front of Zach and victoria, which was ridden by two unicorns.

Victoria opened the door of the carriage and said, "Let's go."

Zach sat in the carriage with a sigh and covered his face with his hands.

After five minutes, the carriage stopped.

"We are here," Victoria tapped on Zach's shoulders and got off the carriage.

Zach got off the carriage, and the first thing that came out of his mouth after seeing the scenery was: "Wow."

They were in the sky castle, which was located in the sky above the clouds. It was also a ship that was used to travel.

"What's this place?" Zach asked with a curious look on his face.

"This is… my guild," Victoria answered. "All of my guild members live here."

"So basically, you guys stole it and labeled it as yours?" Zach remarked.

"The guilds can create and build buildings and houses. We get a guild quest where we can get the materials," Victoria answered with a blank expression on her face.

"Oh…"

"So…" Victoria folded her arms below her bosom and said, "What's going on?"

"Long story short, Shay and Kayden were bugging me to play a VR game, and… well, here I am," Zach snorted.

"Why did you play it?" Victoria muttered under her breath. "Idiot."

"Now, answer my question." Zach furrowed his brows and asked, "I thought you went to mars."

"I didn't."

"But that day, you said you were moving to mars."

Victoria frowned her face and said, "As always, you are self-centered and ignorant about everything else."

"What are you trying to say?"

"That day, I told you that my parents are moving to mars. I never said I am going with them," Victoria stated.

"Wait… wait a minute. So… so why did you break up with me over text?" Zach asked with a confused look on his face.

****

Total players in the game 410175.

0 new players logged in.

44 players died.

====

Author's Note- Support the book with gifts and golden tickets!

76 CHAPTER 75- A RELATIONSHIP

"Why did you break up with me over text?"

"Do you know why I sent you that text?" Victoria asked.

"Because…" Zach stopped and squinted his eyes before asking, "This is a trick question, isn't it?"

Victoria let out a weary sigh and said, "You know, my parents wanted me to go with them. But I was dating you, so I denied them. Yet, you got angry and started yelling at me that day."

"Well…" Zach scratched his cheeks and said, "I guess I overreacted. I should have listened to you."

Vitoria gritted her teeth and said, "That wasn't your first time doing that."

"..."

"You were always like this. You always thought about yourself," Victoria commented.

"That's not true." Zach shook his head and said, "I loved you, and you know that."

"Hah?!" Victoria scoffed in anger and uttered, "Loved? Loved?! You are saying that you loved me?!"

"..."

"Zach, do you even know what love means? We were dating, Zach. We were in a relationship! Do you know what a relationship is?!" Victoria yelled.

"When a couple is in a relationship, they have to take care of each other. It's not only about love; it's about mutual understanding and sacrifices. They have to be there for each other. A relationship is complete when both the boy and the girl invest equal time in a relationship; both the boy and the girl have to compromise!"

"Yeah. And I did all that, didn't I?"

"In your dreams!" Victoria roared. "Zach, do you have any idea how much I cried when we were dating? I cried every time I was alone! I felt so alone, so incomplete!"

"You never said this—"

Victoria interrupted Zach and said, "I will be honest. When we started going out, I wasn't serious about our relationship. But… but… I fell in love with you. Your stupid remarks and arrogant personality. I loved them. Why? Because we both were the same."

"..."

"I did everything I could for you. I dressed up well so you would compliment me, but you never did. Okay, that was too girly of me, and I don't blame you." Victoria sniffed and tried her best to hold back her tears.

"When a boy and a girl date, they go to school together. If not, they go home together. But you always went home with Shay and Kayden! Okay, I don't want to sound like a possessive girl, so I will let this one slide too."

Victoria took a deep breath and continued, "I… I gave you my virginity! I called you daddy because you asked me to. I did everything you wanted me to do. Yet…"

Victoria couldn't hold her tears anymore and started crying.

"Do you remember what happened after we had sex?" she asked while crying. "I woke you up because my parents were going to be home. And what did you do? You wore your clothes and left the house."

"What else was I supposed to do?" Zach asked with a puzzled yet calm look on his face.

"You didn't even ask me how I was feeling. You never asked me if my… my vagina was hurting." Victoria wiped her tears and said, "Do you know why I didn't come to school the next day? Because it was hurting so bad that I couldn't move from my bed! Yet, you never bothered to check up on me. You never called me or even texted me to ask about my condition!"

It was because of Zach's celestial physique, Victoria's human body couldn't contain the pain.

"I also let that one slide. But yet, you never changed," Victoria stated.

"I was going to take our relationship serious after we had sex," Zach asserted in a solemn voice and concerned look on his face for Victoria.

"Oh? And how exactly?" Victoria asked. "You were still a self-centered, selfish, arrogant, narcissist asshole who only thought about his well-being."

"Come on…"

"Correct me if I am lying," Victoria remarked. "You were never there when I needed you. I was always alone. And yes, we never talked in school, we didn't go home together, we never talked on the phone or over text, we never went on a date. We never kissed, and yet when you said you wanted to have sex, I agreed. Because I thought maybe you would finally think about me. Maybe you will… maybe you will love me…"

Zach gulped down and uttered, "But I loved you. And I… I still love you."

"One…"

"Huh?"

"Just remind me of one time where you did something for me, just once…"

Zach tried to recall, but he couldn't remember.

"See? And you still say you love me?" Victoria smiled wryly with tears in her eyes.

After a brief silence, Victoria asserted, "Zach, I was the only one who was thinking about a future where we were together. I was the only one who loved you. I was the only one who compromised in our relationship. I am the one who did everything. I only asked for one thing in return; your love. And in return, you always yelled at me without listening to me. You always misunderstood me. You always…"

Zach couldn't deny any of Victoria's claims because sadly and unfortunately, everything Victoria said was true.

"Zach, I still love you. I truly do. And I don't think I will ever fall in love with someone other than you." Victoria wiped all her tears and looked into Zach's eyes before saying, "But Zach, if I stay in a relationship with you, I will die from inside. Especially when we are trapped in this death game where I need to stay strong. If I stay with you, I will become weak, and I will cry over little things."

"Are you saying that…" Zach bit his tongue on purpose, so he couldn't complete the sentence.

"Yes. This is over!" Vitoria declared. "We are officially breaking up."

"..."

Victoria looked at Zach with teary eyes and said, "I hope you find your true love. And I hope you find someone who loves you more than I do."

"I can't say the same to you," Zach uttered in a low voice

After saying that, Victoria left while sobbing.

Zach let out a deep sigh and leaned on the ledge of the balcony.

'Don't lose the sigh of your moon while counting stars.' Zach once again remembered his father's words.

"But father, there were no stars in the sky… not before, nor now…" Zach muttered.

"But… I guess I wasn't watching over my moon. Maybe I wasn't taking care of my moon?" Zach muttered with a sigh.

'Victoria was my moon before, but it's Aurora now.' Zach looked up and saw two moons in the sky.

"Can't two moons coexist together?" Zach asked himself.

'What the hell am I thinking?' Zach rubbed his hand on his face and muttered, "I am not like father."

Zach stayed like that for a while and looked down at the scenery with a blank expression on his face.

'So… now we officially broke up, huh? I didn't know being in a relationship could be hard. But well, I am not giving up. I will give Victoria some time to cool down.'

****

Total players in the game 410140.

0 new players logged in.

35 players died.

77 CHAPTER 76- GUILD MASTER

Some minutes ago.

After Victoria and Zach left, Aurora obviously followed them. But she was left speechless when she saw them leaving in a unicorn carriage.

However, fortunately, Misha was with them, and she was one of the high-rank players in the guild. She summoned another carriage, and Aurora, Aria, Shay, Kayden, and Misha hopped into it.

When they reached the guild in the sky, Aurora immediately went to search for Zach.

When she found them, she saw Victoria yelling at Zach with tears in her eyes.

She couldn't listen to what Zach was saying because he was barely speaking anything and that too, in a low voice.

Aurora heard how Victoria described Zach. She didn't believe what Victoria said, but when she noticed Zach wasn't defending himself, she knew Victoria was telling the truth.

After Victoria left, she saw Zach standing on the balcony with a sad look on his face.

'I have never seen him making that face,' Aurora uttered inwardly.

'Should I go talk to him?' Aurora asked herself.

However, before Aurora could decide what to do, others caught up to her.

Shay and Kayden talked with Zach and asked him what had happened. Zach simply told them that they officially broke up.

Before they could ask for more information, the group was approached by a handsome young man who looked to be in his 20s.

He had blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing the same guild uniform, but the top was entirely different.

"So you are Victoria and Mishra's friends," the man uttered with a gentle smile on his face.

"And you are?" Zach asked with a slightly annoyed look on his face.

"My name is Elliott, and I am the guild master of the guild Risen Warriors. You are currently standing on my property," Elliott introduced himself.

Misha cleared her throat and pointed her finger at Shay to introduce him: "He is Shay. Shay Ramsay."

"Oh?!" Elliott exclaimed and turned to Shay with a surprised look on his face. "You are the heir of the Ramsay family?!"

"Yeah?"

"Wow. What an honor to meet you." Eliot shook hands with Shay and said, "You should join my guild."

"Oh, I already plan to," Shay answered.

"Great!"

"But I won't be giving extra funds to the guild," Shay added in a solemn voice.

"Haha," Elliott laughed awkwardly. "No problem."

Shay was a billionaire, and because of that, everyone wanted to befriend him. Most of them were after his money. Sure he had many friends in the school, but Zach and Kayden were his best friends.

Elliott then turned to Kayden and asked, "And this is…?"

"He is my…" Misha glanced at Kayden with a mischievous smile on her face and said, "He is my fiance."

"Oh! So he is the lucky guy."

Elliott shook hands with Kayden and then turned to Zach.

"So you must be Zach," Eliott uttered.

Zach raised his brows and asked, "So you have heard of me?"

"Misha mentions you at least once a day," Elliott chuckled and moved his hand towards Zach to shake hands with him. "Nice to meet you."

Zach, however, didn't shake hands with Elliott and simply nodded at him.

Elliott retracted his hand with an awkward look on his face and said, "Are you joining my guild?"

Zach glanced at Kayden to hear his answer.

Misha also stared at Kayden with an eager look on her face.

After pondering for a while, Kayden grabbed Mishra's hand and said, "I will pass."

"But Kay…"

Misha tried to say something, but Kayden shook his head at her and said, "And Misha will be leaving your guild too."

Elliott raised his brows and said, "No offense, but you can't decide what Misha would do and wouldn't do."

"Actually, I can. She is my fiance," Kayden remarked.

"Just because she is your fiance doesn't mean you have the right to make decisions in her life. She is a mature adult, and she can do whatever she wants," Elliott asserted.

"Umm…" Misha hugged Kayden's arm and said, "I was playing this game, so I could meet Kay. Now that I have met him, I don't need anyone else."

"So you are leaving my guild?!"

Misha shrugged her shoulders and said, "You are the one who said I am mature enough to make my own decisions."

"Well, whatever you deem fine," Elliott sighed.

Eliott then looked at Aria and Aurora and wondered, 'It seems these two girls are with Zach. Maybe if I recruit them, Zach will join too.'

Eliott turned to Zach and said, "What about you? Are you interested in joining my guild?"

"What will I get if I join your guild?" Zach asked.

"Same as what other players are getting," Eliott replied. "You get free food, free lodging, free loot. Guild member bonus. You would be able to level up faster, and your physique cultivation will also increase rapidly. Five thousand coins every week for personal expenses. Also, this guild building can fly anywhere. If we go to the higher realm, it will come with us."

Zach scoffed and said, "Surely, you don't think I am the same as other players, do you?"

Eliott raised his brows in confusion and asked, "What… do… you…?"

"Make me the guild master, then I might consider joining," Zach sneered.

"Well, that's not happening," Elliott replied with a smile on his face.

Zach took a deep breath and said, "If I remember correctly, your guild is in the top 3 in this game. That means there are two more guilds stronger than you."

"That's right," Elliott nodded.

"So tell me, why should I join you instead of them?"

"The current top 1 guild is impossible to join because it's a capitalized guild," Elliott asserted.

"What do you mean?"

"The number one guild only accepts players from the Edens Dynasty. They are aiming for capitalism," Elliott asserted.

'That's Aurora's kingdom…'

****

Total players in the game 410113.

0 new players logged in.

27 players died.

===

====

Author's Note- Is anyone still reading this book?

Read the 'Author's thought' for an important announcement!

78 BONUS CHAPTER CHAPTER 77- FAREWELL

'That's Aurora's kingdom…' Zach uttered inwardly and shot a glance at Aurora.

"While the number two guild is only accepting the players who have refined physique," Elliott stated. "Refined physique is—"

"I know about it," Zach quipped.

Refined physique was referred to the players whose physique cultivated faster than the other players. Seemingly, those players' ancestors were high-humans. Their inactivated genes helped them cultivate their physique faster.

"And besides, we also don't accept random players in our guild," Elliot remarked. "It's because you are friends with my other guild members that you are getting an easy way in."

"Oh?" Zach shrugged his shoulders and said, "Then I will pass. I have no interest in joining a guild that has no respect for its guild members."

"Excuse me? What gave you that idea?" Elliot asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Let me guess; you have a hero complex, am I right?" Zach sneered at Elliot. "You think you are special. You think your guild will fall apart without you. You think you will be the one beating this game. You think you will be the one saving all the players."

Elliott gritted his teeth and said, "So what?"

Zach smirked and uttered, "Do you think you will become famous? In truth, you are a misanthropist who is acting to be a philanthropist."

"Instead of saving players, you will end up killing them," Zach added.

"Enough!" Elliot turned around and looked at Shay before saying, "We will be ascending to the higher realm next week. If you are yet to meet the requirements, go talk to the vice-captain. She will send some of our best players with you to level up fast."

Elliot looked at Zach and the rest from the corner of his eyes and said, "And those who are not interested in joining the guild shall leave immediately."

After saying that, Elliot left.

Misha and Kayden glanced at each other and looked at Zach.

"What?" Zach asked after noticing not only Misha and Kayden but Aurora, Aria, and Shay were also looking at him.

"I think you went too far, dude," Kayden uttered.

Zach shrugged his shoulders and said, "I just stated the truth. You made the right decision by not joining the guild."

"Well, that's because I am giving up on this game," Kayden stated.

"Huh?"

"I am done playing this game," Kayden repeated himself. "I was taking this game seriously because I wanted to go back to the real world, to Misha. But now that Misha is here, I have no reason to try so hard."

"So… in other words… you will be living in this world with Misha?" Zach asked with a curious yet confused look on his face.

"Yes." Kayden looked at Misha with a smile on his face and said, "If she is alright with it."

Misha hugged Kayden and said, "Of course I am okay with it."

Zach then turned to Shay and asked, "What about you, Shay?"

"I will be joining the guild," Shay replied.

"Well, good luck then?"

"You too."

After bidding farewell to Shay, Zach left with Aurora, Aria, Kayden, and Misha. They got in the carriage and went back to the land.

"Well, if you are planning to live in this world, then you will need a house, right?" Zach asked Kayden and Misha.

"Yeah, we will buy one with the good scenery," Kayden scoffed.

"I would have offered to live at Aurora's house, but we will exchange the house when we ascend, so… in the end, you two have to get your own house."

Kayden patted Zach's shoulders and said, "Don't worry about me, dude. I may not be as strong as you or other players, but I know how to survive in a new world."

Kayden lived eight years of his life in poverty with his ill mother. He was an illegitimate child of his father, who wasn't even aware of Kayden's existence until Kayden contacted him after his mother's death.

After his mother's death, he moved in with his father, who married Misha's mother soon after.

It was like a new world for Kayden. And soon after, he met Zach and became friends with him after dozens of attempts.

Zach patted Kayden's shoulder with one hand and Misha's head with another before saying, "Take care. You are like a family to me."

"We will invite you to our wedding," Misha said with a grin on her face.

"I will see if I can make time or not," Zach grinned back.

After talking with Kayden and Misha for a while, Zach left for the dungeon with Aria and Aurora.

It was a sentimental day for Zach.

First, the stuff that happened with Aria at night. Then, meeting with Victoria in the morning. And then break up. After that, he bid farewell to Shay. And in the end, he bid farewell to Kayden and Misha.

Out of all that, the major impact was his break-up with Victoria.

Zach had already expected that to happen one day. He thought Victoria went to mars and he would never see her again, in the Gods' Impact at least. But when he saw her in front of him, he was genuinely happy.

However, he was aware that their relationship was going downhill, and encountering her suddenly in a situation like that wasn't going to end well.

Although, Zach wasn't the only one affected by that. Aurora was feeling the same.

Aurora felt helpless as she couldn't do anything for Zach to help him. But deep down, she was a little happy that Victoria broke up with Zach.

After reaching the dungeon, they cleared the 50th floor and went back to their home. Both Zach and Aurora leveled up by one, while Aria had already met the requirement to ascend to the upper realm.

****

Total players in the game 409774.

0 new players logged in.

339 players died.

====

====

Author's Note- To be honest, I had planned something else for the farewell part. Shay wasn't going to join the guild yet. Kayden, Misha, and Shay were supposed to join Zach's party and level up. But they had a fight among them, and Shay left the party to join the guild. Kayden was also supposed to join the guild, but as Shay joined, he asked Misha to leave the guild.

So all three of them were going to go their own way (on bad terms). But I changed it while writing, and I like the current one better.

What are your thoughts?

79 CHAPTER 78- A MORNING TO REMEMBER

When Zach opened his eyes, he saw Aurora in front of him, staring at him with her pearl-like eyes.

They both were sleeping next to each other on the same bed, and they indeed spent a night together.

Zach and Aurora stared into each other's eyes for a while before averting their gazes.

"Do you remember what we did last night?" Aurora asked with a flushed face.

Zach moved his hand to Aurora's face and flicked his finger on her forehead before saying, "Don't say it like something happened last night."

"But we did sleep together!" Aurora retorted.

"We just slept on the same bed because you were harassing me," Zach remarked.

"What do you mean I was harassing you? I politely asked you and took your permission," Aurora stated in a loud voice.

Last night, when Zach was preparing his bed to sleep, Aurora dashed in and demanded to sleep with him.

Zach, of course, refused her and asked her the reason why she wanted to sleep in his room. To which, she replied with 'I am scared to sleep alone.'

Zach simply advised her to sleep in Aria's room.

Of course, Aurora was lying, and Zach was aware of that.

After that, Aurora said, "I own this house, so I can do whatever I want."

So, Zach had no other choice but to let Aurora sleep in his room. Besides, it wasn't something new for Zach.

Zach had already spent a couple of nights with Aurora on a single bed whilst they were staying at the inns.

For Aurora, that was a 'polite' way to ask.

However, Zach was a bit worried, thinking something might happen between them, but all of his worries vanished when Aurora fell asleep within five minutes.

Zach also soon fell asleep and unconsciously hugged Aurora for the entire night. Thanks to that, he had a naughty dream that he couldn't quite recall after waking up.

Aurora sat up and looked at the time to see it was past 8 AM. She shook Zach, who was already awake, and said, "Wake up."

Zach sat up and looked at Aurora's seductive pose with an alluring gaze in his eyes.

"Don't you feel afraid of me?" Zach asked.

"Why would I be scared of you?" Aurora asked with a confused look on her face.

"I am a boy, and you are a girl. What would you do if I did something to you?" Zach asked with a curious yet calm look on his face. He genuinely wanted to know how Aurora felt about that.

"Like?" However, Aurora wanted to play dumb for some reason.

Zach raised his brows and pushed Aurora down on the bed. Then, he pinned her down and intertwined his fingers with Aurora's while looking into her eyes.

He moved his hand and stroked Aurora's hair. Then, he caressed her face and moved his thumb to Aurora's lips. He rubbed his thumb on Aurora's lips and moved his hand down to her chest but didn't touch it.

This entire time, Zach's gaze was focused on Aurora's face. If Aurora showed a slight dissatisfaction on her face, he would have stopped. But Aurora didn't react and let Zach do whatever he wanted with her body.

He sighed and moved back from Aurora's body after saying, "Get up."

Aurora sat up and looked at Zach with a gentle smile on her face.

"If you truly want to know what I would do if you ever sexually harassed me, then you will have to do it and find out," Aurora said with a grin on her face.

Zach moved his hands towards Aurora and placed them on her shoulders. Then, he pulled her closer as he also moved closer to her.

'Is he…'

Aurora closed her eyes and puckered her lips, thinking Zach was going to kiss her. But instead, Zach hugged her.

Aurora opened her eyes as her face twitched.

'It's been a while since I last had this feeling, feeling of getting my hopes crushed,' Aurora uttered inwardly.

"Thank you…" Zach uttered in a low voice.

"For what?" Aurora asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"For everything…"

"Wait, why does it sound like you are trying to raise some kind of flag here?"

"You were there yesterday, am I right?" Zach asked. "When Victoria broke up with me."

After a brief pause, Aurora uttered, "Yes."

"How much did you hear?" Zach asked in a solemn voice.

"From the part where she was disrespecting you and calling you mean things," Aurora answered.

"For your information, everything she said was true. I am that kind of boy," Zach asserted.

"I don't care."

"What about you?" Zach asked. "The current number one guild, Edens Dynasty, your kingdom… are you not interested in that?"

"The guild may be of my kingdom or my people, but I belong here, with you," Aurora replied and asked, "You got a problem with that?"

Zach chuckled and said, "No, ma'am."

They both looked at each other and laughed out loud for no reason. Then, they stopped laughing at the same time and looked into each other's eyes as their faces got closer.

Aurora closed her eyes and puckered her lips, and Zach did the same, except he didn't close his eyes.

However, just when their lips were about to touch, there was a loud bang on the door followed by a voice: "Zach! Zach! Open up! Aurora is missing! She is not in her room!"

It was Aria.

Zach let out a weary sigh as he got up from the bed and opened the door.

"Zach! Aurora is missing!" Aria repeated herself with an anxious and concerned look on her face.

"Relax." Zach pointed his gaze at Aurora and said, "She is here."

Aria looked into Zach's room and Saw Aurora on his bed. Her hair was messy, and her clothes were cluttered because Zach had pinned her down not long ago.

"Wow… I did not expect that..." Aria uttered with her jaw dropped in surprise.

"Nothing happened," Zach whispered to Aria.

"What?!" Aria whispered back violently. "You are a pussy!"

"Where did you learn that word?!" Zach whispered violently.

[System updated!]

Everyone received the same notification at the same time.

Zach opened his notification with a groan and muttered, "What did they do now?"

[Hello, Players. We have made some changes to the game in this update, and the changelog is listed below.]

****

Total players in the game 409598.

0 new players logged in.

176 players died.

====

====

Author's Note- Join the discord server if you haven't yet!

(You can find the reference illustrations of characters in case you missed the ones I posted in the paragraph comments)

80 CHAPTER 79- UPDATE CHANGELOG

[Hello, Players. We have made some changes to the game in this update, and the changelog is listed below.

-We have noticed that a lot of players have trouble understanding the rank and realms system. So we are introducing an NPC guide. The guide will be different for each realm, and you can find them in the capital of each realm. They should be loitering around the park.

The NPC guide for the first realm, @Dynisor, can be found at the park in the capital.

-We are introducing a real-time pain feature. The players will now experience the pain until they are fully healed. If the player's hands are cleaved, they will feel the pain until they are fully healed by a player with healer class or the NPC healer.

-The players can die from thirst and hunger, just like in the real world.

-The players will bleed if they are injured.

-The players can die from intense blood loss.

-The dead bodies of the players won't disappear, and they will rot away if not buried.

-The players can die from excessive mental stress, trauma, pain, and fear.

-Fall damage is decreased by 10%. (The fall damage is calculated by the height of the fall. Fall damage will be inflicted if the player falls from 3 meters or more.)

-Clearing the same floor again will now only give the 10% EXP of the first time clearing.

-Towers exist to gain skill and rewards. Dungeons exist to grind EXP. So to get physique points, we are introducing a labyrinth.

(Players have to fight and win against other players to gain the said physique points. The winning player can choose to either kill or forgive the loser player.) (If the winning player decides to kill the loser player, they won't get a red name tag.)

(Killing in duels won't result in players getting a red name tag.)

-Players can now worship their gods and gain favor from them.

Players will receive one karma point for each time they pray. Players can only pray three times a day.

Players can only worship one god. Changing the religion will result in penalties or sometimes instant death.

-Magic shop can now be summoned for free. The players will get a summoning token for every five level ups. They can use that token to summon the magic shop for free.

The token cannot be sold or transferred to other players. Terms and conditions applied.

-Players can now choose a nickname to be displayed on their name tag instead of their real name.

-Guilds and top players can now arrange events and tournaments where other players can participate and earn rewards.

-We are introducing a feature where our mascot, the black slime, will read out the Gods' Impact journal for you. You can summon it anytime from the help section in the menu and ask any questions regarding the game.

-The loot in the parties and guilds will be automatically distributed among the players based on their DMG score on the monsters.

-New secret monsters are introduced. The Players can obtain secret information by completing the quests given by the NPCs.

NPCs quests can be found in the quest board of the guildhall.

-Multiple marriages are now allowed.]

Zach was in utter disbelief after reading that.

"Most of the changelog was filled with new ways to kill the players," Zach commented.

"I liked the one where they gave us an option to change nicknames," Aria commented.

"So there are labyrinths now. I can increase my physique faster, but… we have to fight against other players…." Aurora uttered while stuttering.

"I didn't like the one where they introduced the pain feature," Zach uttered in a disdainful tone. "It's going to be tough now."

Earlier, the player only felt pain when they were being attacked. After that, the pain vanished. Even if the player was at 1 HP, they couldn't feel any pain. But everything had changed now.

Even when the player was injured or attacked, they could fight because they couldn't feel any pain. But now, most of the players would give in to the pain and lose their courage to fight.

"I am sure they are going to favor the players who would worship them," Aria remarked.

"So I guess we are officially heretic now," Zach scoffed.

"What about the multiple marriages one?" Aria whispered to Zach.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Well, you would have to divorce me first to marry Aurora in the future. If you divorced me, you would have broken the soul pact," Aria asserted.

"..." Zach hadn't thought his relationship with Aurora would go that far just yet.

Aurora and Aria cooked breakfast and asked Zach about what they were going to do the entire day.

Usually, Zach would have replied with 'Dungeons', but Zach wasn't in the mood to do anything today. And the new update changelog made him more unmotivated. Even if he went to clear dungeons, he would be distracted, which could result in injury. It was for the best to take some time off.

"Let's go sightseeing today," Aurora suggested. She knew Zach needed some time off to take everything off his mind.

Zach, Aurora, and Aria went on tour and explored the entire capital.

"Not going to lie, the capital turned out to be bigger than I expected, "Zach uttered as he caught his breath and sat on the bench.

"Each realm would only get bigger as we ascended," Aurora stated.

"What shall we do now?" Aria asked. "It's already night. Should we eat out tonight?"

"Yeah."

They went to the nearest restaurant and ordered the food.

The restaurant was full of guilds and parties, and they were talking about various things.

The players sitting behind Zach's table were talking about the guild and a world boss of the first realm.

Zach quietly leaned back and listened to their conversation.

"The top number 3rd guild is going on a secret expedition raid to defeat the world boss and gain the legendary grade scroll that contains legendary spells."

"How do you know about that if it's a secret?" the player asked.

"My friend is in the guild. He told me about it."

World boss was the boss assigned to each realm where players could achieve unbelievable feats and rewards by defeating it.

'Scroll?' Zach thought to himself. 'I have been looking for information about spell scrolls. But I guess I am late. If the entire guild is going, then they will probably get the scroll before me.'

That night, a guild of 3200 members went to challenge the world boss— the fire dragon. However, none of them returned alive.

****

Total players in the game 406369.

0 new players logged in.

3229 players died.

====

Author's Note- Support the novel with gifts and golden tickets.

Fun Fact- Realms are flat.

PS- I have created a fandom page for this novel. So if anyone here knows how to edit and add infos. DM me on the discord.

Link- https://gods-impact-online.fandom.com/wiki/Gods%27_Impact_Online_Wiki

81 CHAPTER 80- WORLD BOSS

Zach, Aurora, and Aria were on their way to the guildhall after eating breakfast in the morning.

"So, why are we going to the guild hall? Aurora asked. "To get information?"

"No. We are going to complete some NPC quests to gain the knowledge of the secrets on the realms," Zach answered. "And I think the best place to get information are taverns and restaurants," he scoffed.

After reaching the guildhall, Zach looked through the NPC quests on the quest board, but he was having a hard time deciding on the quests.

"Which one are we doing?" Aria asked excitedly.

"Can we take multiple quests at once?" Ziro asked Aurora.

"Five is the limit," Aurora answered.

"Well…" Zach glanced at the quest board and uttered, "All of these quests are lame, to be honest. It's either find this or find that or bring this or bring that."

"We should take the one which has high rewards," Aria stated.

"Why are you stating the obvious?" Zach snorted.

After looking through the quests for a while, Zach selected five quests.

«NPC Quest- Find the lost cat.»

Time- 1 hour.

Reward- 10% completion on the secret locations on the maps.

«NPC Quest- Gather yellow petals of the plant in the forest.»

Time- 1 hour.

Reward- 10% completion on the secret locations on the maps.

«NPC Quest- Fish 20 silver scaled fishes.»

Time- 2 hours.

Reward- 20% completion on the secret locations on the maps.

"This quest looks like it's from the restaurant," Aria uttered.

«NPC Quest- Harvest 1 Acre worth grains from any farm.»

Time- 2 hours.

Reward- 30% completion on the secret locations on the maps.

«NPC Quest- Water 6 Acres of land for the crops.»

Time- 3 hours.

Reward- 30% completion on the secret locations on the maps.

"By completing these five quests, we can get all the secret locations of the capital," Zach asserted.

"I think we should split up because the time limit is too low," Aurora suggested.

"Yeah," Aria nodded and said, "I was thinking the same."

"Alright, then." Zach turned to Aurora and said, "You find the lost cat."

"Okay…"

After noticing reluctance from Aurora's voice, Zach asked, "I can give you another quest if you want to."

"No, it's okay. It's just… finding a cat in one hour, especially in the capital, is almost impossible," Aurora groaned with a sigh.

"By my knowledge and experience, the cat should be in the alleys. And there are only a few alleys in the capital," Zach advised.

"At the west side? Got it."

After saying that, Aurora left to look for the cat.

Zach then turned to Aria and found her looking back at him with a grin on her face.

"What's with that face?" Zach asked with a disgusted look on his face. "It doesn't suit you."

Aria frowned her face as her grin vanished.

"Now that's the face that suits you," Zach scoffed with a grin.

"Give me my quests already," Aria uttered in a disdainful tone.

"You mean 'Give me my orders, master', right?" Zach sneered.

Aria rolled her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. She let out a weary sigh and said, "Give me my orders, master."

"Can you do two quests?" Zach asked with a curious yet calm look on his face.

"Sure."

"So… you are doing the 'fish the silver fish' and 'gather yellow petals'," Zach stated. "The forest and the river are side by side, so it should be time-saving."

"I will message you when I am done."

After saying that, Aria left.

Zach let out a deep sigh and muttered with a chuckle: "I guess I am a farmer now."

Zach walked his way to the door where he heard the player saying, "Hey, is it true that the entire guild was annihilated by the world boss?"

Zach stopped in his tracks after hearing that. His body froze, and his mind stopped working.

"Yes."

Zach felt a sharp sting in his heart.

He rushed to the player and grabbed him by his collar before asking, "Is that true?!"

"Whoa! Who are you, dude?!" the player uttered with a surprised look on his face.

"Is that true that the entire guild was annihilated?!" Zach asked again with a concerned look on his face.

"Yes…" the player replied. "Some of my friends were in the guild. Were your friends in it too?" the player asked.

"Where is the location of the world boss?" Zach asked with a furious look on his face.

"Don't tell me you plan to go—"

"Where is the location of the world boss?" Zach asked again with an emotionless expression on his face.

The player opened his map and circled the area after saying, "It should be around here."

Zach dashed out of the guildhall and rushed to the location.

It was within the mountains.

Zach ran with only one thought in his mind: "Victoria… Shay…."

Zach didn't have time to think of anything, and even if he had, he had no idea what to do.

After reaching the location, Zach conjured a fire sword in his hand and uttered in a solemn voice, "Fill the second slot with the magic weapon too."

Another fire sword appeared in Zach's other hand.

Even though it was a bright sunny day outside, it was night there because the sunlight couldn't reach deep within the mountains.

However, upon looking at the uniform of the guild members, Zach noticed it was different.

"That's not the uniform of Victoria's guild…" Zach muttered as he retracted his swords.

"Didn't that player say the top 3rd guild?" Zach wondered. "And Victoria's guild is number three… right?"

The player who was talking about the number three guild wasn't aware that the guild had become the number two guild.

It was all a misunderstanding caused by the player.

However, now that the number two guild was annihilated, the number three guild— Victoria's guild was now at the second position.

Zach sighed in relief and muttered, "I almost lost my cool there."

'Wait…' Zach raised his brows and wondered, 'Does that mean I can get that legendary spell scroll if I defeat the world boss?'

***

Total players in the game 406047.

0 new players logged in.

322 players died.

====

Author's Note- He is gonna do it… He is gonna do it… he is gonna do it! Or is he?

82 CHAPTER 81- BLOOD MIST FIRE DRAGON

"That means I can get the legendary spell scroll if I defeat the world boss, right?" Zach asked himself the obvious question.

'But... if a guild of 3200 members could defeat it, how can I?' Zach wasn't trying to downgrade himself, but he was wondering the possibility of the outcome if he decided to fight the world boss.

"And wasn't this guild only accepting the players who had refined physique? So doesn't that mean they were the descendants of the high-humans who already have a massive advantage over the other players?"

'What type of boss is it, though?'

Zach was asking himself too many questions, and the answer to all his questions was simple; to fight the world boss.

"I have 8000 MP, which is enough to deal 8000000 HP DMG," Zach uttered. "But it's the world boss we are talking about. It probably has a huge ass HP."

Zach walked forward and prepared himself to fight the world boss.

'Once I encounter the world boss, I can't retreat…'

As Zach walked forward, his commitment to fighting the world boss slowly decreased.

He saw hundreds of dead bodies on the ground, each of them missing at least one of their body parts. There were bodies on the ground, on the walls, trees, between the rocks, half-buried in the ground, squashed beneath other bodies, and smashed on the walls.

The ground and everything around was dyed red with the blood, and it was the river of the blood moving with the flow.

It was a truly bizarre sight, and the stench was unbearable even for Zach.

"I think it's not too late to retreat…."

After walking for a while and sleeping on dozens of dead bodies, Zach noticed a bottomless pit in his sight.

'That's the world boss' den.'

Zach cautiously walked further and stopped near the pit.

"..." He raised his brows and muttered, "I was hoping for it to attack me, but…"

Zach walked forward and peeked down in the pit to see a fire dragon inside. The pit was so deep that the dragon's body could easily fit inside.

"Is it sleepy?" Zach wondered. "Maybe it's tired after the fight with the entire guild?"

Zach conjured a fire sword in his hand and another in his other hand. Then, he merged both swords together and formed a long fire sword with two blades.

"I don't want to be called a coward for attacking it when it's sleeping, but this is the best chance I have if I want to fight this thing…"

Zach took a run-up and jumped into the pit on top of the dragon. He aimed his sword at the dragon's head and released 5000 MP in the sword.

However, as soon as the sword touched the dragon's body, the dragon turned into ash.

"Huh?"

Zach landed on the ground and took 8 HP fall damage. If it was another player, they would have taken at least 8000 HP fall damage. But Zach's DMG was close to none because of his physique.

"What just happened?" Zach lanced around with a confused look on his face and retracted the fire sword.

"Don't tell me… the dragon was already dead?"

Suddenly, Zach smelled the foul stench of blood coming towards him. He immediately conjured two swords in his hands and looked up to see what was coming at him.

The entrance of the bit was covered in a red mist, seemingly created by the blood of the dead players.

The mist slowly gathered and began changing its shape. It soon turned solid and transformed into the form of a dragon, but a smaller size.

Zach could see the remains of the fire within the blood mist dragon's body. Its entire body was red, and its eyes were yellow because of the fire.

Zach glared at the dragon and uttered, "Are you the ghost of the dragon who killed all the players?"

[You are… not a… human,] the dragon uttered in an ethereal female voice.

However, it didn't open its mouth. It was as though it was speaking directly into Zach's mind.

"What are you?" Zach asked.

[The remains of the dragon, or you may call me an afterimage of the dragon.] After a brief pause, the dragon said, [I am dead. No need to be hostile to me. I can't do anything to you even if I wanted to.]

"I am so confused right now, but okay." Zach retracted his sword after noticing that the dragon's body was slowly fading away.

"Where is the legendary spell scroll?" Zach asked.

[He took it away,] the dragon replied.

"And who is 'he'?"

[I don't know. He was wearing a mask.]

"So… he is the one who killed you?" Zach asked with a curious yet calm look on his face.

[Yes.] The dragon's size decreased more as it continued speaking, [Last night, those humans suddenly came to attack me. I tried my best to not kill anyone, but in the end, I had to kill them; otherwise, they would have killed me.]

The dragon's size decreased even more as it said, [Then, when only a few hundreds of humans had left, 'he' came and killed everyone in one hit.]

"...!"

[I was badly injured because of my fight with the humans, so I couldn't win against the masked man.]

[In the end, he killed me and took the scroll with him,] the dragon asserted in a fading voice.

"Come on~!" Zach groaned loudly.

He sighed and asked, "What was that scroll about anyway?"

[It had a spell of the eternal flames. The flames would protect the caster and burn everything on its way.]

Zach placed his hand on his chin and thought, 'That flames would have worked perfectly with the crimson sword. It's almost as though the spell and the sword were made for each other.'

Zach's guess was correct. The sword was made to use that spell to its full potential. Without the sword, the spell was like a dull-edged sword that could still cut but not sharply.

[Hey you…] the dragon called out to Zach. [May I know your name?]

"You may not," Zach replied. "I know that giving names to higher beings can be a deadly trap."

[I guess you are not wrong, but let me tell you my name.]

"Go ahead."

[My name is Malinda Edna. And I want you to fulfill my legacy.]

***

Total players in the game 405989.

0 new players logged in.

58 players died.

====

Author's Note- Life is not fair to everyone :(

83 CHAPTER 82- DRAGON'S LEGACY

[My name is Malinda Edna, and I want you to carry my legacy,] the dragon said.

"Malinda... Edna? That's a strange name for a dragon," Zach uttered in a calm voice.

[I am a Dragonborn.]

"Oh? So you can change your form to a human?" Zach questioned. "Although I doubt you can change now… cuz you are dead."

[I don't have much time. Please listen to my request,] said the dragon.

Zach raised his hands and said, "But I can't guarantee to fulfill your legacy."

[That's fine.] After a brief pause, the dragon said, [I despise the gods.]

"Tell something new."

[I was in my world, resting in a deep slumber, and suddenly I was transported here against my will. I was told to guard the scroll and kill everyone who came for it. However, I had sworn an oath to myself ten thousand years ago that I would never harm a soul. Yet, I was forced to kill the humans. And in the end, I was killed by someone for no reason.]

"Wait a minute…" Zach raised his brows and asked, "So you were not created here?"

[I was not.]

"And you belonged to a different world?"

[That's what I said.]

Zach placed his hand on his chin and wondered, 'The dungeon monsters are mindless, and they respawn every ten minutes after clearing the floor. But the bosses are from a different world?'

'So just like us players, the monsters are also transported here against their wills?'

'Then what about the NPCs? Did they also belong to another world or something?' Zach asked himself.

[I loathe humans too, but I don't blame them all. I have had quite a few human friends myself.]

"So… what do you want me to do?" Zach uttered after noticing the dragon's body had almost faded away.

[I despise gods, and I loathe humans, but you are neither of them. I want your body.]

Zach squinted his eyes with a puzzled look on his face and said, "You want to reside in my body?"

[If possible, yes. That way, I can reincarnate again.]

"My body already has a few beings living inside me, and there is a dragon too," Zach scoffed. "I don't think you are welcomed inside my body."

[Then…] After a brief pause, the dragon said, [Can you raise me as your pet?]

"I can do that," Zach nodded while answering.

[Thank you… forbidden existence…]

"Don't call me that," Zach uttered in a solemn voice.

[I do not know your name. And your soul has that name written on it. My deepest apologies if I upset you.]

After saying that, the remaining mist of the dragon circled around Zach and entered the ground.

Zach let out a deep sigh and muttered, "I hate being called that."

Zach walked to the spot where the dragon disappeared and dug it. After a while, Zach dug out a tri-colored hand-sized egg from the ground.

The egg had red, orange, and yellow spiral stripes on it.

[Congratulations! You have unlocked a new skill— Tamer!]

"Finally, a new skill!"

Zach looked at the egg's status and read:

[Item- Dragon's egg.

State- Unborn.

Hatching time - 10 days.

Master- ???

Owner- ???]

"Come on~" Zach groaned. "My name is not that hard to spell. It can easily be read as Zach."

"Ten days, huh?" Zach sighed after reading the stats and muttered, "I am going to have my own dragon."

[Ding!]

Zach opened the notification to see a message from Aurora: "I found the lost cat."

'As expected of Aurora.'

Zach looked at the time and noticed one hour had passed.

"Now I have to harvest 1 Acre grain in only one hour and water 6 Acre crops in two hours…" Zach looked up at the entrance of the pit and said, "But first, I need to get out of this pit."

Zach placed the egg in his inventory and uttered, "Alright. Let's do this."

Zach tapped his feet on the ground and jumped in the air, but he didn't fall down; he hovered in the air as though he could fly. Then, he jumped on the wall and used it to jump on the opposite wall, then another and another.

After repeating the process a couple of times, Zach finally got out of the pit.

'I could fly in the real world, but I can't fly in this world.'

Zach tried to fly after getting transported into Gods' Impact, but whenever he tried, he only ended up jumping rather than flying. However, when he fought with Aria in her domain, Zach was able to fly, but only for a split second. At that moment, Zach had launched himself up and punched Aria from above.

Since then, Zach practiced to fly, but he could only maintain himself in the air for three seconds.

While it was useless to travel, Zach used his flight ability in the battle to fool the enemy.

Zach made his way back to the capital and went to the nearest farm.

"20 minutes left…" Zach looked at the time and muttered, "I guess I have no other choice."

Zach stood in the middle of the farm and took a deep breath to relax his mind. Then, he summoned a wind sword in his hand.

'This technique is still unstable, but that's perfect in this situation.'

He summoned another wind sword in his other hand and stood while aiming one sword at the right and another at the left. He stood like a scarecrow and started rotating at the same place.

Once a small whirlwind had formed, he released his mana into the win swords and increased its size.

Zach made sure to keep the whirlwind's force to a minimum so it wouldn't damage the soil and the grains.

After repeating the same process a couple of times on different spots, Zach finally completed the NPC quest. But now, he needed to collect the grains and give them to the merchant.

Fortunately for Zach, he had already gathered the harvest grain on several spots. After collecting and gathering the grains from all the spots, Zach placed them into his inventory.

[Congratulations! You have completed the NPC quest -Harvest 1 Acre worth grains from any farm!]

[Rewards will be given upon confirmation from the merchant.]

Suddenly, he got a prompt on his screen that said, [Low storage left in the inventory!]

"This game never ceases to disappoint me," Zach sighed.

However, he was going to give the grains to the merchant, so his inventory was going to be empty soon. But that wasn't a permanent option.

Zach opened his menu and clicked on the 'help section.

A black slime appeared and said, [How dare you summon me, mortal!]

"You are unfriendly as ever, aren't you?" Zach sneered.

[What do you want?]

Zach raised his brows with a curious look on his face and asked, "Just curious, but what happens if multiple players summon you at once?"

[I appear everywhere. But I am not anyone's personal guide. Now speak the reason you summoned me.]

"What's the limit of the inventory?" Zach asked.

[A player is allowed to have a maximum of three weapons in their inventory,] the slime replied.

'I have the cursed dagger, the default sword, and the crimson sword,' Zach uttered inwardly. 'So it doesn't include the equipped weapon.'

"I guess, I will sell the default sword in the shop," Zach decided.

[You won't even get ten coins from it.]

"Doesn't matter." Zach turned to the slime and said, "Now to my next question. Can I upgrade the inventory?"

[You can.]

"And how do I do that?" Zach asked with a curious yet calm look on his face.

[You don't have to do anything. The storage of the inventory increases as you level up,] the slime informed.

"Oh… okay."

[Any more questions?]

"Yes. How many gods create this world? In other words, how many gods would the players have to fight to beat this game?"

[That's confidential information. I cannot tell you.]

Zach summoned a fire dagger in his hand and said, "If you don't answer, I will kill you."

[I won't die from that, but okay. Go ahead and kill me.]

Zach sighed and retracted the fire dagger after saying, "I was joking."

[I do not have the information you seek, so I cannot tell you,] the slime informed.

"You can go now."

The black slime disappeared without leaving a trace.

"Now then," Zach cracked his fingers and uttered, "Time to water 6 Acres of land."

'I was hoping for Aria to contact me since she said she would message me when she is done. Does that mean she hasn't completed them yet?' Zach wondered.

"But the time limit of one of her quests ended an hour ago, and only 5 minutes left for the second one."

Zach frowned his face and said, "She better not have messed up, or she will be getting punishment tonight."

"..." Zach raised his brows and muttered, "Why did the thought of me punishing Aria make me excited?"

Zach walked in the middle of the farm and hovered in the air. Then, he summoned a water sword in both hands and did the same thing he didn't with the wind swords.

However, Zach could only stay in the air for three seconds, so he jumped again and again while covering the six Acres of land.

In the next 10 minutes, he had watered the crops.

[Congratulations! You have completed the NPC quest -Water 6 Acres of land for the crops!]

[Rewards will be given upon confirmation from the merchant.]

Zach sighed in relief and made his way to the guildhall.

***

Total players in the game 405822.

0 new players logged in.

167 players died.

====

Author's Note- Zach has the potential to become a farmer. What do you guys think?

Maybe he should start farming in the real world.

84 CHAPTER 83- USELESS ARIA

Zach went back to the guildhall to see Aurora consoling Aria.

"..." Zach watched them from a distance and raised his brows.

'Why do I have a bad feeling about this?'

Zach approached Aurora and Aria from behind and heard Aurora saying, 'I will talk to him.'

"Oh?" Zach furrowed his brows and asked, "What are you going to talk about and with whom?"

Aria's face turned pale after seeing Zach, but Aurora's face cheered up.

"How long have you been standing there?" Aurora asked.

"Since the beginning," Zach replied.

Of course, it was a lie, and he made it obvious by averting his gaze.

"I completed my quest," Aurora informed.

"Yes. I got your message." Zach turned to Aria and asked, "But it seems someone didn't."

"I-I can explain," Aria replied while stuttering on her words.

"Yes, start explaining," Zach uttered with a frowned face.

Aurora came in between Zach and Aria and spread her arms.

Zach raised his brows with a confused look on his face and asked, "What are you doing?"

"You will keep your distance from Ameria." Aurora squinted her eyes and asked, "You do know that she is a shy girl, right?"

'Shy girl, my foot! She is a sly girl!' Zach wanted to yell that so badly, but he couldn't risk it.

Aurora then turned to Aria and said, "Ameria, don't worry. Just tell him what happened."

Aria looked into Zach's eyes and uttered, "So I first went to the forest to collect the yellow petals because the time limit of that quest was the least."

"But when I entered the forest, I was attacked by monsters," Aria asserted.

"I am not sure, so I will ask you." Zach raised his brows at Aurora and asked, "Are there monsters in forests?"

Aurora nodded and answered, "There are monsters everywhere, and it's common in VR games. However, the monsters don't come near towns or safe zones."

"Alright." Zach nodded and looked at Aria before saying, "Continue."

"Of course, killing monsters was like stepping on ants for me. But I couldn't find yellow petals. So I went deeper into the forest. However, the deeper I went, the more monsters I encountered."

"They should be stronger too," Aurora quipped.

"Still, I couldn't find the yellow petals. So I summoned the black slime for the help section, and it told me that yellow flower petals only spawn at a specific time of night."

"..." Zach knitted his brows and uttered inwardly: 'That is possible.'

"And the time limit for that quest ended?" Zach guessed.

Aria nodded and continued, "Then, I had only one hour left to fish 20 silver scaled fish. So I ran my way to the river and started finishing."

"Now, please don't tell me that the silver scaled fishes were rare fishes, and they also spawned at a specific time," Zach guessed with a remark.

"Umm. You are not wrong. But I did manage to find them. However, as expected, one hour was too less to fish 20 fish," Aria stated.

Zach face-palmed himself and thought, 'Where is that savage woman I met in the domain. This one is useless.'

"How many did you manage to fish, though?" Zach asked.

"19. I was so close! I even had the 20th fish under my hook, but…!" Aria sighed and lowered her voice to say, "Sorry."

"Sorry doesn't suit your mouth," Zach sneered. "If you truly feel sorry, then you better accept and complete more NPC quests."

"I will do them tomorrow," Aria muttered. "I am too tired right now."

Zach raised his brows and asked with a curious look on his face: "How many monsters did you encounter?"

"I lost the count after 1200," Aria replied with a sigh.

"1200 monsters?!" Aurora exclaimed. "That's too many monster. How deep did you go in the forest?"

"As deep as I could," Aria replied. "The deeper I went, the narrower the path got."

Zach covered his face with his hands and muttered, "My mind is so dirty."

Zach met with the merchant in the guildhall and confirmed the completion of two NPC quests.

After that, they went to the restaurant and ate lunch.

Zach stopped at the gear shop on his way and tried to sell the default sword, but as one would have expected, the default sword was useless in the first realm. So he threw the sword in the sewer.

"Isn't this too early to go home?" Zach commented.

"Yes, but…" Aurora glanced at Aria, who was barely standing on her feet, and said, "She looks exhausted."

"Then let her go home. We will do something else," Zach suggested.

"What?" Aurora asked with a flushed face.

"Well, originally, I was thinking we would once again defeat the boss monster of the 50th floor in the dungeon. But the freaking gods changed the EXP gain to only 10%, so it's useless now."

Zach turned to Aurora and asked, "You suggest something good."

"Let's go clear the dungeons," Aurora uttered with a grin on her face.

Zach snorted and groaned, "Come on~"

"We will polish our sword skills as well as our duo syncing attacks," Aurora asserted.

"I guess?" Zach shrugged his shoulders and said, "I also need to practice a new move with my DT skill."

"And that is…?" Aurora asked with a curious look on her face.

Zach smirked and replied, "You will find out soon enough."

Aria went home while Zach and Aurora entered the dungeon and started clearing it with floor one.

"Kill all the monsters, but leave one," Zach asserted.

Aurora killed 99 monsters alone without breaking a sweat and left one for Zach.

Zach grabbed the monster's head with his hand and used his DT skill.

[Floor 1 has been cleared!]

"..."

Aurora furrowed her brows at Zach and asked, "What's new about this?"

"Not this. But I wanted to try using a specific amount of my MP."

"Why would you want to do that when you call kill any enemy by touching it?" Aurora asked with a puzzled look on her face

"Sometimes, I run out of MP, and DT uses my HP. While sometimes, when I am carrying a certain someone, I need to use other ways to deal DMG to the monster because my DT skill would kill the monster in one hit."

Zach looked at Aurora from the corner of his eyes and said, "So imagine, what if I could deal the DMG I wanted using a specific amount of MP? I could leave the monster at 1 HP and let you have the last hit so you can gain the EXP."

"That does sound cool." Aurora grabbed Zach's hand and said, "Let's go practice it then."

They passed through the blue portal and entered the next floor.

'I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't met Aurora. I would have still met Victoria, and she would have still broken up with me.'

'Maybe I would have turned into a lone wolf who surpassed everyone and ascended to the peak, risen to the pinnacle, unleashed the monsters inside me, and went on a rampage. Or perhaps, I would have become a monster myself?'

***

Total players in the game 405781.

0 new players logged in.

41 players died.

====

Author's Note- No one cares.