85-96
85 CHAPTER 84- SHAY'S OFFER
It was nighttime.
Shay was walking in the hallway of the sky castle with an expressionless look on his face. AS he passed, the guild members who were passing by or standing, talking, sitting, or practicing, whispered to each other, seemingly they were talking about Shay.
Shay ignored them and kept walking before stopping in front of a huge door. There, he was stopped by the two guards at the door.
"What do you want?" one of the guards asked.
"Why else would some come here?!" Shay asked with an annoyed look on his face. "Obviously, I am here to talk with Elliott!"
Another guard entered the room and closed the door behind him.
"Sir, the new guy is here to talk with you," he said.
Elliot was sitting on the chair in the dark hall. He was sitting by the table, and he was wearing glasses. Seemingly, he was doing paperwork for the guild.
"Let him in," Elliott replied without looking at the guard.
"Yes, sir."
The guard left the room, and soon after, Shay walked in.
"What brings you here, Shay?" Elliott asked.
"..."
Shay didn't reply and simply stood there.
"What brings you here?" Elliott asked again.
But Shay still didn't reply.
Annoyed, Elliott finally looked at Shay and said, "Are you deaf or what?"
"I don't talk with people who don't make eye contact with me," Shay remarked.
Elliot sighed and placed the papers on the side. Then, he stood up and stood before Shay after leaning on the table.
"So?"
"I leveled up by two today," Shay reported.
"Good. What level are you now?" Elliott asked with a curious look on his face.
"16," Shay replied.
"And what is your Physique?"
"Awakened (early)- 800/2500," Shay replied.
"We are going to ascend next week, so make sure you meet the requirements before that," Elliott asserted.
Shay raised his brows and asked, "What would happen if I didn't?"
"Sadly, we will have to kick you out of our guild," Elliott replied. He looked at Shay for a while and added, "But don't worry. I will make sure you meet the requirements."
Shay and Elliott stared at each other for a while, but neither of them spoke a word.
"I…" Shay finally broke the silence and said, "Make me the guild's treasurer."
Elliot knitted his brows and uttered, "But you said you won't provide us your funds."
"I still won't." Shay cleared his throat and said, "What I mean is, make me the one who makes all the decisions and plans everything in the guild."
"No, thank you," Elliot smiled at Shay and said, "That's the job of the guild master."
"I grew up in a family who only cared about the business. I know how to rise from nothing. I was born to rule over the businesses." After a brief pause, Shay asserted, "If you make me the treasurer, I will make sure this guild rises to the number one, just like its name— Risen warriors."
After pondering for a while, Elliott nodded and said, "You have a point. Give me some time to think about it."
Shay smirked inwardly and said, "I will wait for your final answer."
Shay turned around, and he was about to leave, but Elliott called out to him.
"Shay…"
Shay turned around and raised his brows; "Yes?"
"Have you heard the news about the recently failed expedition?" Elliot asked with a judging look.
"Oh, are you talking about the number 2nd guild which was annihilated by the world boss?" Shay asked to confirm.
"Yes," Elliott nodded and asked, "Do you realize what that means?"
Shay raised his brows with a confused look on his face and answered, "That we shouldn't find something we know nothing about?"
"No." Elliott sighed and said, "I expected you to know it."
Elliott turned around and sat on his chair. He took off his glasses and placed them on the table. Then, he looked into Shay's eyes and asserted, "That means... we are the top 2nd guild now."
"Right…"
After that, Shay left the hall. He walked and walked until he reached where no one was around. Then, he punched the wall and gritted his teeth in anger.
"Zach was right. That guy is corrupted to the core. He wouldn't care if any of the guild members died, he would give a speech, but his words would have no feelings. He simply wants to rule over the people."
After that, Shay started walking again to explore the sky castle.
When he was strolling around, he came across Victoria, who was sitting at the bench by the balcony.
Victoria was gazing at the sky with a serious look on her face as though she was thinking of something important.
'Now that I think of it, why did someone selfish like him make Victoria vice-captain?' Shay wondered.
He walked to Victoria and sat on the bench beside her. However, 2 minutes passed by, but Victoria didn't notice Shay.
"Hey!" Shay shouted.
Victoria jolted and looked at Shay. Then, she jolted even more and made some distance between him and Shay.
"What do you want?!" Victoria asked with a disgusted look on her face.
"Nothing." Shay shrugged his shoulders and said, "I saw you sitting here, so I thought I would drop by and let you know that you are bitch!"
Victoria frowned her face and said," You do know that I can kick you out of the guild if I want to, right?"
"I honestly don't care." Shay scoffed and said, "I hate you."
"Well, the feeling is mutual," Victoria replied.
"You dumped Zach, one of my few true friends. How could you do that to him?" Shay asked in a disdainful tone.
"Mind your own business, douchebag," Victoria replied.
"That's what I am doing." Shay frowned his face and said, "He was crying when you broke up with him over text, you know?"
"Huh?"
"I wasn't there because I was busy with my birthday party, but Kayden was there. He was celebrating Zach's birthday at his house when you broke up with Zach," Shay asserted.
"Wait… it was his birthday that day?!" Victoria exclaimed with a baffled look on her face.
Shay looked at Victoria and shook his head in disbelief: "You didn't even know that?"
"..."
"And then you acted like a perfect girlfriend," Shay commented. "Listen, let me tell you the harsh truth of this world. No one is perfect. I repeat, no one is perfect."
***
Total players in the game 405728.
0 new players logged in.
53 players died.
86 CHAPTER 85- VICTORIA'S COMMITMEN
"Hey, Shay…" someone called out to Shay from behind.
Shay and Victoria looked back to see a girl from their guild.
"Oh, hey… Natasha…" Victoria greeted her.
Natasha grabbed Shay's hand and dragged him with her to the corner.
Shay slapped her hand and said, "Excuse me, but who are you? And don't touch me without my permission."
"I am your girlfriend," Natasha replied.
"Uh… what?" Shay raised his brows and thought, 'Which one, though?'
"What's your name again?" Shay asked.
"Natasha," she answered.
"Yeah, but which Natasha?"
"Your classmate. We had sex at your house on your birthday," Natasha stated. "I gave you my virginity.'
'Well… I had sex with six girls that day. Why can't I remember this girl? It's not like I remember the names of the girl I sleep with. But I am pretty sure none of the girls were virgin because I would definitely remember that.'
Meanwhile, Victoria felt guilty for saying all those mean things to Zach.
'I shouldn't have said that. I told him he didn't do anything for me, yet I didn't even know his birthday. What's worse is that I sent him the break-up text on that day. What if—'
SLAP!
Victoria looked in the corner to see Natasha had slapped Shay on the face with tears in her eyes.
Shay glanced at Victoria from the corner of his eyes and walked away.
Natasha walked over to the bench and sat beside Victoria. She cried and kept wiping her tears.
"..." Victoria wanted to comfort her, but she had no idea what to do.
After five minutes, Natasha stopped crying and let out a deep sigh. Then, she looked at Victoria and said, "Don't worry. I am fine now."
"Okay…"
There was an awkward silence between Victoria and Natasha for one minute.
"So, what were you talking about with Shay?" Natasha asked.
"What about you? Why were you crying?"
"I lost my virginity to Shay a month ago on his birthday. He said we would go out together, but just now, he broke up with me for no reason," Natasha uttered in a disdainful tone.
"Piece of shit…" Victoria uttered.
"What about you? I heard you broke up with Zach. Is that true?" Natasha asked with a curious look on her face.
Victoria knitted her brows and asked, "How do you know that?"
"Everyone in the guild is talking about it," Natasha replied with a scoff.
Victoria looked up at the sky and uttered, "Maybe I shouldn't have broken up with him."
"What makes you think so?"
"Well… I still love him, and he said he loved me too, so…"
"So, what's the reason you broke up with him?" Natasha asked.
Victoria sighed and muttered, "Reasons…"
"It's not a big deal, though, is it?" Natasha uttered. "I mean, break-ups happen all the time. It's part of the relationship. We can always find someone else."
"I can't."
Natasha stared at Victoria before asking, "Are you a virgin?"
Victoria didn't say anything and simply shook her head in response.
"So… was it Zach?" Natasha asked with a knowing look.
Victoria didn't say anything and nodded in response.
"So you lost it to someone you love, right? Then it's perfect."
"..."
"Take me, for example. I knew Shay was a playboy. Everyone knows it. But, I still had sex with him because I liked him. So I lost my V-card to the boy I liked. What more could a girl ask for?"
"It's different for me…" After a brief pause, Victoria continued, "There is still love between us."
"Then why don't you two get back together?" Natasha asked curiously.
"What if we break up again? I am not even sure he would agree to go out with me. I said so many horrible things to him. And I am sure he hates me now," Victoria uttered with an anxious look on her face.
"Then why don't you two start your relationship as friends again?" Natasha suggested. "That way, you can get to know each other better and have a pure relationship. And then, if you think it would work out, ask him out."
After pondering for a while, Victoria nodded and said, "That's a great idea."
"Then ask him to join this guild. That way, you can be together and keep a close eye on each other," Natasha suggested.
Victoria shook her head and said, "He won't join."
"How can you be sure of that?"
"I may not know Zach very well. But I dated him for one month, and it was enough for me to know that Zach never backs off on his commitment. And he never lies. He is always straightforward and blunt, which makes him look arrogant." Victoria chuckled and said, "But that's what makes him Zach."
"Heh!" Natasha scoffed after seeing Victoria praising Zach.
"What?"
"You just said it yourself that Zach never lies, and yet you didn't believe him when he said he loved you," Natasha commented.
Victoria face-palmed himself and muttered, "I hate myself."
"Haha!" Natasha laughed out loud. "It's not too late. Send him a message to meet you at the cafe or something."
"Yeah…" Victoria opened her menu and realized she never added Zach as a friend in Gods' Impact.
After that, Aurora and Natasha went to the training ground where Shay was training with other guild members.
Victoria called out to him while Natasha kept his distance from Shay.
"What do you want?" Shay asked with an annoyed look on his face.
"Do you have Zach on your friend list?" Victoria asked.
"I do. What about it?"
"Can you message him and ask him to meet me at the—"
Before Victoria could even ask Shay, Shay interrupted her and said, "Why should I? I hate you, remember?"
Victoria furrowed her brows and said, "I will send 30 of the top players from this guild to help you level up."
"Oh?" Shay opened his menu and said, "What do I have to tell him again?"
"Just ask him to meet me—"
"Just kidding!" Shay closed his menu and smirked at Victoria. Then, he frowned his face before saying, "Do you truly think would say that?"
"..."
"I would never sell my friends for my benefit. And I know you want to hurt Zach more, so shoo!" Shay waved his hand at Victoria and said, "Fuck off!"
Victoria sighed and left with only one thought in her mind: 'Why did I even expect something from him?'
"What are you going to do now?" Natasha asked with a curious look on her face.
Victoria looked at the sky and said, "It's late now. But I will go to the surface tomorrow morning and find him."
"That's the spirit!"
—
-
.
The next day, Victoria woke up early in the morning and left to the surface.
"Now then, which inn is he staying at?"
Victoria opened the map and saw there were 23 inns in the capital.
In the next three hours, Victoria strolled around the capital and asked for Zach in 15 inns, but she couldn't find it.
After one more hour and searching for Zach in five more inns, Victoria was exhausted.
"Don't give up, Victoria…" Victoria encouraged herself. "Three more inns. He has to be in one of them."
Of course, her expectations were going to be shattered soon. She didn't know that Zach wasn't staying in the inn, but he was staying at Aurora's house.
Victoria walked to the nearest inn and asked for Zach, but the receptionist said no one was lodging with that name.
"Two more…" Victoria sighed.
However, as she was about to leave, her gaze fell on Misha and Kayden, who were eating breakfast.
"They should know!" Victoria rushed to them and asked, "Do you know where Zach is?"
"Oh, hey… Victoria…" Misha greeted Victoria. "What are you doing here?"
"Uhh… hii…" Victoria greeted them and asked again, "Do you know where Zach is?"
"Why do you want to know that," Kayden asked. "You guys broke up, right?"
"I… just want to meet him," Victoria replied. "Which inn is he staying at?"
"He is not staying at the inn," Misha answered.
"Don't tell me he ascended?!"
"No. He is…" Misha shot a glance at Kayden, and Kayden nodded in response.
"He is staying in a house with his party members," Misha informed.
"Oh…" Victoria sighed in her stupidity and muttered, "Why didn't I think of that?"
"But we don't know where that house is, though," Kayden added.
"What?!" Victoria exclaimed. "You guys are his friends! Why don't you know about that? Friends are supposed to know everything about each other, right?!"
"I don't think you have a right to say that," Kayden remarked.
"... yeah, I am sorry. I am just…" Victoria let out a deep sigh and said, "I will leave."
"Wait!" Misha stopped Victoria and said, "I can take you where Zach is."
"You know where he is?!" Kayden asked with a surprised look on his face.
"Well…" Misha averted her gaze and said, "He gave me his address in case of emergency."
"Well, whatever," Kayden sighed. "Give it to her."
"How about we also go visit them?" Misha suggested. "We don't have anything else to do anyway. We can also ask them to give us the house when they ascend."
Kayden and Misha looked for a nice house to buy, but none of the places were vacant. However, if any player ascended and exchanged the house in the higher realm, the house would become vacant, and other players would be able to buy it. And Kayden and Misha wanted to buy Aurora's house when it became vacant.
"Let's eat breakfast first."
Victoria also joined Misha and Kayden and ate breakfast with them. After that, they left for Aurora's house.
"This is it…" Misha uttered.
Victoria took a deep breath and gathered her courage.
'You can do this, Victoria…' Victoria walked to the door and rang the bell.
***
Total players in the game 405499.
0 new players logged in.
299 players died.
===
Author's Note- Any predictions?
Also, @Ragewaar, if you are still up for your proofreading offer. Contact me on discord!
87 CHAPTER 86- UNEXPECTED GUES
Zach woke up and opened his eyes to see Aurora sleeping next to him. However, something else woke up along with him.
'I feel like I had a naughty dream about Aurora…' Zach uttered inwardly as he looked at Aurora's body.
He sighed and thought, 'Now, whenever I look at her, it will remind me of that dream.'
'Still…' Zach looked at Aurora's chest and muttered, 'The temptation is real…'
Suddenly, Aurora opened her eyes and stared at Zach.
"...!' Zach stared back at her and wondered, 'Did she hear me?'
Aurora slowly moved her face close to Zach and puckered her lips to kiss him on the lips. However, she was still half-asleep.
"What are you doing?" Zach asked.
Aurora fully opened her eyes and sat up in surprise. She covered her face with her hands and thought, 'That was so close! I thought it was a dream!'
Aurora also had a wet dream.
'Oh, no! What should I do?! Zach caught me!' Aurora was freaking out, and so was Zach.
Zach sat up and covered his lap with a pillow to hide his morning wood.
'She was going to kiss me, wasn't she? But…' Zach glanced at Aurora from the corner of his eyes and uttered inwardly: 'I am not letting her make the first move! I will be the one kissing her first!.'
Zach had no idea he had already made the first move by kissing her while sleeping.
Zach turned to Aurora to find her looking at him with an alluring gaze as though she was inviting him over.
'If you look at me like that… I am going to lose control!'
Zach placed his hand on Aurora's shoulder, then moved it behind her neck and slowly pulled her close to him.
Aurora's face flushed, but she closed her eyes and puckered her lips to accept the kiss.
However, just as their lips were about to touch, there was a bang on the door.
"Zach! Zach! Open up!"
Zach's face twitched in anger as he got off the bed. His rage was immeasurable that he could explode the house in a fury.
Zach opened the door while yelling, "If you did this on purpose, then I swear I will—!"
Zach stopped on his swords when he saw three familiar figures standing behind Aria.
It was Victoria, Misha, and Kayden.
"Uhh…" Zach was left speechless.
"Who is it, Zach?" Aurora asked from inside the room, peeking from the bed to look outside the door.
After seeing Aurora in the same room as Zach, what's more, on the same bed, Victoria, Misha, and Kayden's jaws were dropped.
"Why… are you guys here?" Zach asked in a calm voice.
"Victoria wanted to talk to you," Misha replied with a knowing look on her face.
"..." Zach closed the door and pointed his gaze at the living room after saying, "Let's talk there."
Zach walked to the living room, and the three followed them. He pointed his finger at the couch and said, "Have a seat."
Victoria, Misha, and Kayden sat on the couch while Zach stood in front of them and shot a glance at Aria.
Aria shrugged her shoulders and entered Zach's room.
'That bitch!'
Zach let out a deep sigh and asked, "So, what brings you here?"
"Not going to lie, it feels weird seeing you after all the farewell talk we had last time," Kayden remarked. "Now it feels like all the impact is ruined."
"I know, right?!" Zach seconded.
"Ahem!" Misha cleared her throat while looking at Zach and pointed her gaze at Victoria, whose mood was down after seeing Zach and Aurora in the same room.
She wanted to cry, but she was trying her best to hold back her tears.
'Don't cry, Victoria. You are strong.' She comforted herself. 'You are the one who dumped him. So what if he got together with another girl?'
Misha nudged Victoria and said," You wanted to meet Zach for something, right?"
'Stop it!' Victoria yelled inwardly. 'I can't look at him in the face now. If I do, I will end up crying!'
Aria and Aurora came out of the room and sat on the empty couch.
Zach was still standing and had no idea what to do. He was also feeling a little awkward because Victoria saw him in the same room as Aurora.
"Why don't you introduce Aurora and Ameria to Victoria?" Misha suggested. "They haven't seen each other before, right?"
Aria and Aurora had seen Victoria before, and they knew she was Zach's ex-girlfriend, but Victoria had no idea who Aria and Aurora were.
"Right!" Zach pointed his finger at Aria and said, "Victoria, she is Ari— Ameria, my party member. She is a ranger and a priest."
Zach smirked at Aria and continued, "She begged me to join my party, so I agreed."
Aria's face twitched after hearing that, but she couldn't do anything even if she wanted to. Zach could control her over his commands.
Zach then pointed his finger at Victoria and said, "You might already know her. She is my classmate, and was… is my ex-girlfriend."
'It hurts more than I thought it would.' After hearing that from Zach's mouth, Victoria felt a sting in her heart.
"And…" Zach turned to Aurora and said, "Victoria, this is Aurora. She is my party member. And the owner of this house. She is letting me stay for free."
"What…" Victoria tried to say something, but she stopped and whispered something in Misha's ears.
Misha raised her hand and said, "I want to know what your relationship with Aria and Aurora is."
"Aurora is… my friend. And Ameria is… well, she is a stranger," Zach scoffed.
Victoria whispered something in Misha's ears again.
"How many rooms are there in this house?" Misha asked.
"Four, I guess?" Zach replied.
"Then why were you in Aurora's room with the door closed.
***
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0 new players logged in.
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===
Author's Note- Thus starts the waifu war.
88 CHAPTER 87- INVITATION
"Then why were you in Aurora's room with the door closed," Misha asked that on her own without Victoria whispering anything to her.
"Well…"
"We sleep in the same room, same bed," Aurora replied and glared at Victoria. "What about it?"
"Nothing," Victoria uttered in a low voice.
Victoria finally broke her silence and glanced at Zach with a resolute expression on her face.
"..." Zach averted his gaze and thought, 'What's with that expression?'
'Don't think too much about it, Victoria. Even if something is going on between Zach and the girls, it doesn't matter. I am the one who took his virginity, so I am his first choice.'
Victoria glared back at Aurora and uttered inwardly: 'I know everything about him and his personality. Besides, I am an adult, so I have to take care of this matter as an adult..'
Victoria cleared her throat and said, "I was here to check up on you."
"Oh?" Zach shrugged his shoulders and said, "Thank you… I guess?"
"I heard you rejected the offer to join my guild, is that true??" Victoria asked with a curious yet calm look on her face.
Zach nodded and said, "Very true."
Victoria knitted her brows and asked, "If you don't mind, can I ask the reason you did not join?"
"Surely, it's not because you felt awkward to be in the same guild as your ex-girlfriend, right?" Victoria asked with a smug look on her face.
"Of course not," Zach replied with a soft scoff.
Victoria didn't show any reaction on her face, but she was crying from the inside.
'I see. So he is over me, huh? He has already moved on…' Victoria thought to herself.
"I didn't join because the guild master reminded me of the useless side-character of the story, who turned into a main villain in the endgame." Zach turned to Kayden and asked, "What was that name of the game again?"
"Uhh…" Kayden pondered for a while and answered, "Are you talking about 'Real Dead Fantasy Chronicles.'?"
"Yeah, that," Zach nodded. "Man, that game was full of cliche tropes."
"Anyway!" Victoria quipped and asked, "Are you and your party interested in joining the guild?" Zach shook his head and said, "You know I am not the type of person who would follow the rules."
"Fair enough.." Victoria sighed and said, "Then how about you join as a temporary member?"
"Are you talking about the new feature they added in the latest update where players can join the guild for a limited amount of time and get rewards?" Zach asked with a judging look on his face.
"Yes." Victoria nodded and continued, "My guild is going on the dungeon expedition after three days. However, only the guild members who haven't cleared the entire dungeon will go."
"I, myself, have only cleared the first 40 floors," Victoria added.
Zach raised his brows and asked with a curious look on his face, "How many floors are there?"
"The beginner realm had 100 floors, so the first realm should have the same," Kayen replied.
"What's the time limit or cooldown for the player to leave the guild?" Zach asked. "In other words, how soon can a player leave after joining the guild as a temporary member?"
"There is no time limit," Victoria replied.
"How many guild members will be coming?"
"I don't have the exact number, but it should be more than 1800," Victoria responded in a calm voice. "The others are either not interested, or they have already cleared the floors."
"We can't blame them," Misha sighed. "The risk of dying is the most in the dungeons."
'What should I do?' Zach pondered for a while and thought, 'I was already planning to clear the dungeon with Aria and Aurora today.'
'And we three are enough to clear a hundred floors by ourselves, but it will take more than a week.'
After the 50th floor, not only were the number of monsters per floor high, but they were strong too. On some floors, there were multiple bosses, so unless the players were in a party or guild, clearing them alone was impossible.
Of course, Zach, Aria, and Aurora could do it, but Zach would need a high MP for that. He was already cultivating 5000 MP in one day using multiple techniques, but it wasn't enough to defeat and clear all the floors in one day.
Zach cultivated while talking, walking, resting, eating, sleeping— he cultivated all the time except when he was fighting.
'If I join the guild, I can easily carry Aurora. And thanks to the latest update, the loot and EXP are distributed according to the DMG dealt by the players. So I can't use the old method where I was letting Aurora have the last hit.'
Zach glanced at Aurora to see her response, and she nodded.
'And the major advantage of joining will be getting a physique boost, so Aurora can boost her physique too.'
Zach turned to Victoria and uttered, "Before I answer, tell me, is that douchebag also coming?"
"Are you talking about Shay?" Victoria asked with an innocent look on her face.
"No." Zach laughed out loud and said, "I am talking about that useless side character."
"Oh!" Victoria exclaimed and shook her head, "No. Also, Shay is not coming either."
"Alright.." Zach nodded and replied with a sigh: "WE will join, but only for one day. Once we have cleared the dungeons, we will leave."
"Fine by me." Victoria opened her menu and said, "Add me as your friend, so I can directly contact you."
Zach added Victoria as his friend.
Victoria then looked at Aurora and smirked at her with a smug look on her face, as though she was trying to exert her victory.
"...!" Aurora's face twitched after seeing that.
"Zach." Aurora called out to Zach and placed her hand below her stomach, saying, "You were so good last night."
"...!" Everyone present in the room had the same reaction.
"Uhh…" Zach averted his gaze at Victoria and saw tears in her eyes.
'This is bad.'
***
Total players in the game 405369.
0 new players logged in.
53 players died.
89 CHAPTER 88- DECLARATION OF WAR
Victoria sniffed and dashed out of the room while crying.
"Wait, Victoria!" Zach called out to her, but she had already run away.
Zach frowned his face at Aurora and said, "You had to do it, huh?!"
Zach left the house and rushed after Victoria. After searching for her for a while, Zach saw a flying carriage coming to the surface.
Zach knew the carriage had to be for Victoria, so he rushed in the direction of the carriage and found Victoria waiting for it to come down.
"Victoria!" Zach yelled.
Victoria looked back and started running after seeing Zach.
"Argh! Come on!" Zach groaned and chased after Victoria.
The carriage landed on the surface, and Victoria opened the carriage's door. However, Zach caught up to her and pinned her down on the ground.
Luckily, they were in the garden where no one was around.
Victoria tried to push Zach away, but she didn't have any courage. Her heart was broken after what happened back in the house.
"Get off me!" Victoria yelled.
"I won't."
"Let me go!"
"First listen to me," Zach asserted.
"I don't want to. It's my fault for—"
"I still love you!" Zach blurted out in the heat of the moment.
"..."
As expected, Victoria stopped resisting, but she was still crying.
"But you did it with that girl!" Victoria said in a loud voice.
"She was talking about a lullaby," Zach explained in a calm voice. "I sing her lullaby every night, and she was referring to that."
"But… she placed her hand below her stomach and that look on her face…"
"Yeah, I know. She was just… she did that on purpose to exert her dominance…"
Zach let go of Victoria and stood up.
Victoria wiped her tears and got up before saying, "You better not be lying."
"You know I never lie."
Zach and Victoria stared at each other for a while and got lost in their eyes.
"Do you truly still love me?" Victoria asked in a gentle voice.
"What, do I need to prove it to you?" Zach replied with a scoff.
"Yes…" Victoria responded in a low voice.
"..!" Zach was taken aback by that. He was simply joking to tease her, but he never expected Victoria to take it seriously.
However, now it was too late to take that back.
Zach gulped down and pulled Victoria close to her. Then, he caressed her cheek and moved his face closer to her.
Victoria was surprised, but she let Zach do whatever he wanted. She closed her eyes, and a second later, she felt something soft on her lips.
She opened her eyes to see Zach was kissing her juicy lips. No, he was sucking them off.
After the kiss, Zach looked into Victoria's eyes and said, "If this does not convince you, then I am ready to do something else."
Zach still hadn't learned his lesson, although he was ready to go all the way. It was a win-win situation for him.
"No, that's enough," Victoria replied with a flushed face. She covered her mouth and said, "That was my first kiss, by the way."
"I have always wanted to kiss you, you know?"
Victoria raised her brows and asked, "What about you? Was this your first kiss?"
Zach averted his gaze and replied, "Well… no."
Victoria furrowed her brows and asked, "So it was with Aurora?"
"Uhh… no."
Victoria frowned her face and asked, "Then who was it?"
"It was… well, it was when I was seven years old. It was more of a farewell kiss rather than a romantic kiss," Zach replied with a distant smile on his face.
Zach sighed and said, "Listen, there are so many things I have to tell you about me. But I need time."
"I know." After a brief pause, Victoria squirmed as she said, "I am sorry for saying all those mean things to you when we broke up."
"I am not offended by that." Zach shrugged his shoulders and said, "You were telling the truth. I am arrogant, and everyone knows that. Self-centered? A little bit.
"Uhh… selfish? Well, selfishness is the main thrive to live. But a narcissist?" Zach shook his head and said, "I don't think so. I do think I am better, but I don't think I am the best."
"And ass for the asshole…" Zach laughed out loud and said with a grin on his face: "Everyone knows I am a first-class asshole."
Victoria laughed out loud after seeing Zach describing himself. She hugged him and said, "I love you."
Zach hugged her back and said, "Hey.."
"Hmm?"
"How about you leave the guild and join my party?" Zach asked in a calm voice.
"..." Victoria didn't say anything and kept hugging Zach.
"I know I am asking a bit too much. You are the vice-captain, and you have a major role in the guild, but…" Zach hugged Victoria tightly and said, "I want you here, with me."
After a brief silence, Victoria made a little distance between her and Zach. She looked him into the eyes and said, "Okay. I will leave the guild after we are done with the dungeon expedition. Then, I will join your party and ascend together."
Zach smiled and said, "You have no idea how happy I am after hearing that."
Victoria waved at Zach and turned around after saying, "I will message you later."
"Yeah— wait." Zach placed his hands on Victoria's shoulders and tried to kiss her again, but she stopped him.
"That's not happening."
"Why not?" Zach asked with a confused look on his face. "We are dating again, right?"
"Umm…" Victoria averted her gaze and said, "I may have caused a little bit of misunderstanding."
Zach squinted his eyes and said, "Please elaborate."
"I want to start our relationship as friends," Victoria uttered in a monotonous tone.
Zach face-palmed himself and said, "I never expected to get friend-zoned after getting a kiss."
"I am not—! I… I still love you," Victoria declared. "But… let's start as friends, okay?"
Zach knitted his brows and glanced at Victoria from the corner of his eyes.
"You do realize that if we stay as friends, I can make moves on other girls, right?" Zach asked with a knowing look on his face.
"I know, and I don't mind."
"You don't mind?" Zach asked with a confused look on his face, "Remind me, who was the girl who ran away after a small misunderstanding."
"That's because I thought you didn't love me anymore. I thought you hated me. But now I know you don't hate me, and you still love me." Victoria replied with a shrug.
"Even if you date another girl when we are friends, I am confident enough that I can make you cheat on her with me," Victoria declared with a proud face.
"You have changed, Victoria," Zach said in a calm voice.
Victoria looked past Zach's shoulder and smirked before saying, "So have you."
Then, she moved her face close to Zach and kissed him on the lips. She opened the carriage door and asserted before waving to him: "See you soon."
—
-
.
When Zach returned home, Kayden and Misha were talking about buying the house. Aurora told them she would inform them when they ascended.
Meanwhile, Aria was making breakfast.
After talking for a while, Kayden and Misha left.
"Breakfast is ready~" Aria groaned. "Get your asses on the chair."
"..." Aurora glanced at Zach with a confused look on her face after hearing that. "Did she just say…?"
"Let's go." Zach glared at Aria and thought, 'She is getting too comfortable that she is letting her true personality show off.'
When they were eating breakfast, Aurora glanced back and forth at Zach and Aria as though she was waiting for the right moment to say something.
Aurora was sitting in the middle chair, while Zach and Aria were seated opposite each other at the end of the table.
Zach grabbed the bowl of the soup and began drinking it directly without using a spoon.
"So…" Aurora took a bite from her dish and said, "How does kissing in the game feel?"
Zach choked on his soup and ended up spilling some back in the bowl.
Aria also started coughing after hearing that.
Zach wiped his mouth and looked at Aurora with a confused look on his face. But then he realized something.
"You… saw?" Zach asked while stuttering.
"I chased after you because I felt bad for saying that, and I wanted to apologize to Victoria. But when I reach the park, what do I see? I see you kissing her passionately on the lips," Aurora asserted in a disdainful tone and shook her head in disbelief.
"In my defense, if you hadn't said anything to cause that misunderstanding, Victoria wouldn't have run away, and I wouldn't have to kiss her to calm her down," Zach stated.
"Oh, don't worry. You don't have to defend or explain yourself," Aurora uttered. "I am not angry or anything."
"..."
"But I am pissed on Victoria." Aurora frowned her face and said, "When she noticed I was watching you two, she smirked and declared that she would steal you from me."
.So that's why Victoria said that in a loud voice…' Zach sighed.
"That was a declaration of the war!" Aurora pulled Zach close to her and kissed him on the lips.
Both Zach and Aria were surprised. However, Zach kissed her back by playing with Aurora's tongue.
After the kiss, Victoria continued, "And I, Aurora Edens, the first of my name, the sole heir of Edens Dynasty, the next to be the Queen and the Ruler, accept her challenge!"
Zach was left speechless, but he had already expected such an outcome.
'It was going to happen one day. This was inevitable,' Zach thought to himself.
Zach continued eating breakfast, and so did Aurora and Aria. However, Aria was eating hastily with a frowned face, as though she was angry about something.
Zach sighed while eating and uttered inwardly: 'Now I understand what father meant by 'Be careful with the ladies. For once, they can be damsels, and in the next instance, you can be in distress'.'
'But father, you forgot to tell me what I should do when I get in such a situation.'
Zach had yet to experience the pain and the pleasure of loving multiple girls at once.
===
***
Total players in the game 405321.
0 new players logged in.
48 players died.
===
Author's Note- I wasn't going to advance the harem this sooner, but after thinking about it for a while, I decided to go with this.
Also, if you are worried that the novel might suffer because of the harem, then I assure you, you don't have to worry about it. I have said this before, and I will say it again, I am more than confident in my harem execution skill. And this is just a start.
90 CHAPTER 89- DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER
Aurora was standing in front of Elliot and 100 guild members who were assigned as Elliott's guards.
"What is the meaning of this, Victoria?" Elliot asked.
When Victoria returned to the sky castle after patching up with Zach, Elliott was waiting for her at the guild entrance.
"Where have you been?" Elliott asked with a serious look on his face.
"I was… uhh… on the surface?" Victoria replied awkwardly.
"Victoria, you may be the vice-captain of the guild and second in charge after me. But that doesn't mean you can go anywhere without my permission," Elliott asserted. "You have to inform me at least."
"I was on the morning patrol," Victoria uttered. "Recently, I have encountered many of my schoolmates and classmates, So I was wondering if there are more. I wanted to invite them to the guild."
Elliot let out a deep sigh and said, "I think it's about time we stop accepting the players from your school or class."
"Why?" Victoria furrowed her brows and asked, "It's not like there is any limit to the number of players we can have in the guild."
"There may be no limit on the guild members, but our resources are limited," Elliot asserted. "We don't have food or lodging for everyone."
"..."
"And we haven't created this guild to babysit low-level players. For today onwards, we will only accept the players who are minimum at level 25 and have at least one battle skill and one class skill," Elliott declared in a loud voice.
"What would you do if a player died because of us? When we are on the battlefield, we can't keep an eye on everyone. We first need to protect ourselves, so we can protect others. Imagine, if a player dies because of us, would we be able to forgive ourselves? I certainly won't be. I will have to bear the burden of that player. There is a limit to what one can do. We cannot save everyone, but we have to save who we can. But first, they need to learn to protect themselves," Elliott asserted in a solemn voice.
Everything Elliott said was reasonable, and it sounded logical, as though he was genuinely worried about other players. His every word had deep meaning behind them, as though he truly cared about his guild members.
However, everything was a lie, a sham. Eliott didn't mean anything he said. His words had no feelings or emotion. He was simply using those words as a reason not to recruit low-level players.
"Also, every guild member would now be forced to participate in the guild events." After a brief pause, Elliott continued, "We are now at top 2nd position in the guilds. We have to surpass the number 1 guild."
"... I understand," Victoria nodded.
"You bet, you do" Elliott stared at Victoria for a while and glanced around.
He asked the guards to leave him alone with Victoria.
"I will leave for my daily training," Victoria informed.
"Wait, Victoria…" Elliott called out to Victoria and said, "Have you thought about it?"
"Thought about what?" Victoria asked with a puzzled look on her face.
"My confession," Elliott responded in a calm voice. "I heard you broke up with that pretentious boyfriend with an inflated ego. Now you are single, right?"
"Oh!" Victoria sighed and said, "My answer is still no."
After Victoria joined Elliott's guild when it was at 173rd position in the guild ranking, Elliott confessed to Victoria. Victoria, obviously, rejected him because her heart belonged to Zach. But Elliot gave her some time to think about it.
Since that day, Elliott has asked Victoria the same question 21 times, and Victoria has always rejected him. And every time, Elliott replied with the same thing.
Elliott frowned his face and said, "You are not thinking clearly! I will give you a few more days to think."
After that, Elliot left.
SIGH!
Victoria sighed and uttered, "I am glad Zach asked me to join his party. I can't wait to leave this guild.
"You are leaving this guild?!" A voice exclaimed from behind Victoria.
Victoria turned around to see Natasha standing in front of her with a baffled expression on her face.
Victoria sighed in relief and nodded, "Yes."
"Are you leaving because Elliot keeps asking you to go out with him?" Natasha asked with a curious look on her face.
"That's one reason, but I am leaving because I am joining Zach's party next week," Victoria answered. "But don't tell anyone about it, okay?"
"Oh?!" Natasha exclaimed. "So you patched up with Zach?"
"Yes."
Natasha smiled and said, "Good for you."
Victoria smiled back and patted Natasha's shoulder after saying, "You are a good girl."
Natasha watched Victoria leave for her daily training. Then, she glanced around and frowned her face. She clenched her fists and uttered, "Bitch."
'I was only acting good with you because you were the vice-captain. I thought I would get benefits if I stay close to you, but if you are leaving, then you are useless to me.'
Natasha began walking and made her way to a certain room.
'If she leaves, I am sure Elliott will make Shay the next vice-captain, and I can't let that happen!'
Natasha looked at the two guards standing in front of Elliott's office and muttered, "They will leave for a patrol, and the next team will come after a minute."
'I will have one minute to enter Elliott's office.'
Natasha waited for a while until the guards left. Then, she rushed to the door and entered Elliott's office.
Elliott had just entered his office, so he was standing. Seemingly, he was walking towards the table.
Natasha closed the door behind her and locked it. She purposely made a loud noise so Elliott would turn around and look at her.
'If I can't use that bitch! Then, I will use Elliott!' Natasha asserted inwardly.
Elliott turned around and looked at Natasha.
"Umm…" He raised his brows in confusion and said, "You are…. Natasha, if I recall correctly?"
"Yes," Natasha nodded.
"May I ask what are you doing here?" Elliott looked at the time and said, "Visiting hours are at noon. If you want something or have a request, you can come at noon."
"Are you sure?" Natasha smirked at Elliot and began taking off her clothes.
"What are you…" Elliott wanted to stop Natasha, but he lost his sense of speech after seeing Natasha's naked body.
Natasha walked up to Elliott and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Umm…" Elliott couldn't take his eyes off Natasha's body. "I…"
"I have something important to tell you. But before that…" Natasha pushed Elliott on the couch. Then, she pulled down his pants and sat on his lap before saying, "Let's have some fun."
—
-
.
30 later, Natasha came out of Elliott's office.
'He was definitely a virgin! He was so bad that I had to take the lead.' Natasha sighed. 'He came in two minutes and couldn't even get hard again for the next five minutes.'
'Out of all the boys I have had sex with, Shay was the best.'
Natasha frowned her face and muttered, "That reminds me of the time where I tried to seduce Zach, but he turned me down and called me a slut!'
This was Natasha's true self.
She never lost her virginity to Shay. In fact, she mixed a drug in Shay's drink and took him to his room. Then, she r*ped him.
She planned to accuse Shay of r*ping her and blackmail him to get money from him. However, her plan failed because she was alone in the room when she woke up the following day. She had no proof of anything, nor could she provide any physical evidence.
She had tried to make a move on Zach many times after she found out Zach had won the lottery, but Zach wasn't the type of person who would be swayed by the beauty of the girl.
When Zach said, 'Besides, it's not all about a girl's beauty. They could be ugly personalities behind their beauty.' to Aria, when they were rating each other, he was referring to Natasha.
Natasha played the victim and tried to gain sympathy from Victoria. She knew that Victoria was feeling down, and she chose that moment to strike the hammer and gain her favor.
She suggested Victoria to talk with Zach because she thought Zach would reject her and Victoria would feel more sad. Then she would console her and become best friends with her.
However, her plan failed because Victoria successfully patched up with Zach.
But now, she has Elliott dancing on her fingertips.
"I will become the main mastermind of this guild," Natasha declared with a vicious grin on her face.
==
Also, how many of you actually felt sorry for Natasha when she was first introduced and hated Shay even more? Have your thoughts changed now?
PS- Don't hate Victoria
91 CHAPTER 90- THE DISAPPEARANCE OF NPCS
"Here…" Aurora moved the spoon towards Zach's face and said, "Open your mouth."
Zach reluctantly opened his mouth and let Aurora feed him
Zach, Aurora, and Aria had come to the tavern of the inn to eat dinner. They spent the entire day completing NPC quests because they kept failing some due to time inconsistencies. They were tired and Zach didn't want Aurora and Aria to make dinner at home. So they decided to eat out.
"Uhh…" Zach tried to say something, but stopped and sighed.
Aurora shot a glance at Zach and asked, "What's with that sigh? Do you not like me feeding you?"
"It's not like that…"
Aurora smiled at Zach and said, "How about you feed me too?"
"..."
Zach fed Aurora with an awkward smile on his face.
'What the hell is going on?!" Zach exclaimed inwardly. 'After the kiss at the house, Aurora has been acting awfully touchy.'
'She grew up as a princess under strict culture. So I am sure she doesn't have knowledge about dating and stuff,' Zach uttered inwardly. 'What if she thinks we are married because we kissed?'
'Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case,' Zach sighed again.
Meanwhile, Aria was glaring at Zach and Aurora with a frowned face.
Zach noticed Aria looking at him as though a hunter was looking at the prey.
Zach knitted his brows and his eyes widened as he thought, 'Don't tell me… she has developed—'
"Why is my order taking so long to arrive?" Aria uttered in a grumpy tone.
'Oh, nevermind.'
"I know, right?!" Aurora seconded Aria. "Even my order took 10 minutes to arrive."
"Yeah, usually they arrive within five minutes," Zach uttered. He glanced around with a curious yet calm look on his face and said, "And is it just me or there are fewer maids than usual?"
"Yeah…" Aurora and Aria counted the maids and said, "There are only three maids when usually there are like 12."
Zach started eating his food without waiting for Aria's food to arrive. But Aurora shared her plate with Aurora.
After five more minutes, Aria's order finally arrived.
"What took you so long?!" Aria yelled at the maid.
"I apologize for the delay, but we currently don't have enough maids and chefs," the maid replied in a polite tone.
"What do you mean?" Aria asked with a confused look on her face. "Aren't there like 12 maids in this tavern? Where did they go?"
"Well…" the maid glanced around with an anxious look on her face and responded in a low voice: "A lot of NPCs have gone missing since the last 3 days."
"And…" the maid's eyes got teary as she muttered in a low voice: "Help… us…"
Her voice was lower than a whisper, and neither Aria nor Aurora could hear that.
Of course, Aria would have heard it— even with her 10% of physique and power, but the maid was closer to Zach, so only he could hear her.
After whispering the maid left.
Zach's ears twitched as he felt chills in his body.
'What was that?' Zach asked himself. 'Her voice felt so desperate yet lifeless. As though she was living on mercy.'
Zach looked back to check on the maid, but she was nowhere to be seen.
'Where did she go?'
Zach gazed at the other maid and saw her going upstairs with a concerned look on her face.
'What's going on? What is this uneasy feeling I am having? Did that maid put a spell on me or something?'
Zach couldn't comprehend the feeling in his body. He was feeling like he had to do something but didn't know what. It was as though the maid's words had triggered something uncanny.
Zach turned to Aurora and said, "I will be right back."
"Where are you—"
Zach glanced at Aria while standing up from his seat, and left.
'Don't let her follow me,' Zach said to Aria using telepathy
Zach went upstairs to follow the maid.
Aria gulped down and almost trembled in fear after hearing Zach's voice in her mind. She thought, 'What is this feeling? And why did his voice sound different in my mind?'
Aurora stood up and tried to follow Zach, but Aria stopped her and said, "I don't think that's a good idea."
Aurora ignored Aria's warning and followed Zach. However, before she could catch up with Zach, Aria grabbed her from behind and stopped her.
Zach had lost track of the maid and he had no idea where she went. He glanced around but found no leads.
Suddenly, Zach's ears twitched again as though they sensed something.
'They are reacting to something...'
After a slip second, Zach frowned his face like never before and kick-opened the door of the last room in the hallway.
The room was pitch dark with no lights on, but Zach could spell a scent of blood.
When Zach walked into the room, his steps splashed on a liquid, and he knew without seeing that it was blood. As he walked further in, his leg hit something. It was soft and hard at the same time.
Zach crouched down and picked it up in his hand to see it up close, but he let go of it the moment later.
It was the severed head of the maid who asked for help not long ago.
"..m.."
Zach's ears twitched again as he heard a faint whimper coming from the corner of the room. He could see a silhouette of a person, but it was vague.
He squinted his eyes and saw something shiny from the same spot.
It was a tear.
Zach took a deep breath and closed his eyes as his ears repeatedly twitched.
***
Total players in the game 404869.
0 new players logged in.
452 players died.
===
Thanks for reading, and I hope you are having a nice day.
92 CHAPTER 91- WRATH OF THE PHOENIX
Meanwhile— Aurora was insisting on going upstairs, but Aria wasn't letting her go.
"Why are you stopping me?!" Aurora asked with an annoyed tone.
"Why are you being so clingy to Zach?!" Aria replied in the same tone.
"You are the one who told me to make moves on him before someone steals him from me." Aurora shrugged her shoulders at Aria and said, "That's what I am doing."
"If you don't give him some space then he will find it annoying," Aria uttered. "He might start ignoring you, and it can turn into hatred."
Aurora turned to Aria and uttered, "Just admit that you are jealous of me."
"What do you mean?" Aria asked with a scoff.
Aurora furrowed her brows at Aria and said, "Did you truly think I haven't noticed how you glare at me when I get close to Zach?"
Aria raised her brows in confusion and asked, "What do you… mean? I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Oh, please!" Aria rolled her eyes and grunted, "Do you think I am a fool to not notice it?"
"Notice what?" Aria asked with a puzzled look on her face.
Aurora squinted her eyes and said, "You are really going to make me say it?"
"Say what, though? Can you please explain in simple words without making it more complicated?"
"Argh!" Aurora groaned and said, "I know you love Zach."
"What?!" Aria scoffed and exclaimed at the same time. "What in the world are you talking about?"
Aurora bit her lips and said, "Your personality and behavior suddenly changed after I saw Zach leaving your room that night."
"Well… that…" Aria started averting her gaze and avoided eye contact with Aurora.
'It's all because of Zach that I am getting into this mess! Seriously! Me, and love someone?! That's preposterous!'
"What's wrong?" Aurora asked in a haughty tone. "Why are you speechless? Did I hit the mark?"
'Screw it! I don't care anymore. I will tell her everything before this gets any more complicated,' Aria decided.
"No, you are wrong. I am—"
BANG! BOOM!
Aurora and Aria looked upstairs with dozens of other players eating in the tavern.
"What was that?" Everyone started chattering.
Aria and Aurora glanced at each other and dashed upstairs. The other players and the NPCs present there also followed them
When they reached upstairs, they saw the last room in the hallway was on fire.
Aurora immediately rushed to the room, But Aria outran her and reached before Aurora.
She covered her mouth after entering the room and so did Aurora. However, the reason was different.
Aria covered her mouth because she could bear the stench of the blood, and Aurora did it because of the shock and disgust.
They could see everything because the walls and roof of the room were missing. Seemingly, the loud bang noise was the cause of it.
Half of the room was filled with dead bodies, and all of them were of girls. They were naked and each of them had missing body parts. Some bodies were cut open, while some bodies were brutally ripped apart with force.
"What in the… Aria unknowingly walked forward when her feet hit something.
Aria and Aurora looked down to see the severed head of the maid rolling on the floor. It was the head of the maid who Zach followed upstairs.
Aurora jolted and hugged Aria in fear. She turned her face to the side and closed her eyes before saying, "Please take me out of this room."
"Yeah…" Aria took Aurora out of the room with an anxious look on her face.
At the same time, the third maid entered the room and yelled on top of her lungs. She dropped to her knees and started wailing.
After taking Aurora out of the room, Aria approached the maid and asked, "Do you know any of them?"
Of course, the maid knew her fellow two maids, but Aria didn't know what else to ask to comfort the maid.
The maid nodded and said, "They are all the female NPCs that went missing."
"Why didn't you…" Aria changed her question and asked, "Were you aware of this?"
The maid nodded and said, "All the maids who entered this room never came back. We were suspicious, but we couldn't do anything. We had no access to the player's room because it's prohibited. And the player never came out of his room. He hadn't even paid the rent yet, but we were unable to access the room. That's how this world is designed."
Aria glanced around the room and thought, 'No matter how you look at it, all the girls were cruelly r*ped and brutally tortured until they died.'
'But… where did Zach go? He must be with that player but…' Aurora trembled in fear and muttered, "I have a bad feeling about this."
—
-
.
A while ago when Aria and Aurora were arguing downstairs.
Zach closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then suddenly, his gloves began to shine in red color, as though it was fire, but without flames.
The player hiding in the room dashed at Zach with an ax in his hand and tried to attack him, but he was sent flying by an unknown force.
The red color from the gloves started aggravating as it started emitting sparkle-like flames.
The player got up and fired magic attacks on Zach as he yelled, "You shouldn't have come here!"
"You shouldn't have been born…" Zach muttered in a low voice.
The player once again dashed at Zach, but suddenly, the walls and the roof of the room were sent flying with the explosion. And Zach and the player were nowhere to be seen.
Soon, Aria and Aurora entered the room and saw the bizarre scene that left them speechless.
Aria looked up in the sky and saw a shooting star was seen in the sky that was falling in the direction of the church.
"..." Aria stepped back and stumbled on her feet after seeing that.
'That's… the wrath of Phoenix…'
93 CHAPTER 92- SOUL AWAKENING
A half-burnt body of a man fell on the ground and bounced in the air on impact. Then, it was punched by red gloves.
The body crashed through the walls of the church, and it was slammed on the ceiling before falling on the ground with a splat noise.
However, the player was still alive. And the nun present in the church, who was the NPC healer, ran to the entrance of the church.
The ground shook, and the ceiling fell apart as Zach landed near the man. He ignored the nun and walked to the man, who could barely move.
Zach raised his hand, but his gloves stopped glowing.
"Well, it doesn't matter…" Zach muttered.
Zach looked at the player's name tag and noticed it was dark blue, meaning the player had killed more than 100 NPCs. The player's name was 'Legendary Gear 69', which was the nickname system introduced in the latest update.
Normally, Zach wouldn't have gotten this furious, but after discovering that the boss monsters were summoned from another world, he was certain that the NPCs were also somewhat similar.
However, even if they weren't, The NPCs of Gods' Impact were normal humans, the same as the players in the real world. But, the NPCs were unable to use magic or level up.
While Gods' Impact didn't have any rules or laws, the negative karma was in effect.
(Negative karma gave bad luck, meaning the player wouldn't get anything useful from the treasure chests. The players with their negative karma higher than negative ten weren't allowed to join guild or party.)
For Zach, the player was nothing more than an ordinary human who needed to be punished for his crimes. He didn't have any allegation nor obligation to do that, but doing that wouldn't make him less of a human. However, he felt like he would lose something if he didn't punish the player.
And the punishment was death with suffering.
"Why… do you care…?" the player asked. "They are NPC. Their lives don't matter…"
"Calling you a racist would be an understatement," Zach uttered in a solemn voice. He considered NPC as a race.
'Time to test how effective the new update is…'
Zach conjured a lightning sword and cleaved the player's hands and legs.
"Aaaaargh!" The player started bleeding and yelled in pain, but he still hadn't died for some reason.
'What's with him? I sent him flying in the sky with my punch and kept beating the shit out of him until I threw him at the church. And he is still alive even after receiving the fall damage getting his limbs cleaved.'
'Wait…' Zach raised his brows and wondered. 'Does killing an NPC also level up the player?'
'He has to be more than level 50… at least…'
Zach didn't want to kill the player directly, or he would get the red name tag for killing the player because they weren't in a duel. While if 'Legendary Gear 69' died with intense pain and severe blood loss, his death would be considered as self-death.
Normally, Zach wouldn't have minded the red nametag, but now he was a little worried about getting it. He was finally back with Victoria, and his relationship with Aurora was advancing.
Zach wanted his relationships to get on a stable phase before doing something reckless.
After around 5 minutes of bleeding and suffering in pain, Legendary Gear 69 died.
"I thought I would feel satisfied, but I don't…" Zach muttered in a solemn voice.
"Then again…" He turned around and said, "There would be many like him, or even worse."
Zach walked to the gate of the church to leave, but the nun came in between and stared at him.
The nun had pointy ears and curly braids from the side. Her hair color was golden, and her eyes were brown.
Zach frowned his face and uttered, "Get out of my way."
The nun walked close to Zach and dropped to her knees.
Confused, Zach raised his brows and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Thank you, my lord," the nun uttered in a respectful tone.
"Oh…" Zach groaned after realizing how the nun in the beginner's realm also mistook Zach as a god.
"Uhh… I am not your lord," Zach sighed in frustration. "Now, get out of my way."
The nun looked up at Zach with teary eyes and said, "No, you are my lord."
"But I am not."
"You are!" the nun insisted.
"I am not!" Zach shouted in annoyance. "Listen, I am getting late. So let me pass, or I will have to kill you."
The nun stood up and grabbed Zach's hand in her hands. Then, she placed Zach's hand on her forehead and said, "You are my lord and god. Please show mercy on me, and I shall worship you like never before."
"You are creeping me out," Zach commented with a disgusted look on his face. "Do whatever you want, just let me—"
Suddenly, Zach's entire body shined white as it rose in the air.
"Argh!" Zach grunted in pain as he tried to move. But a second later, everything went back to normal.
Zach landed in front of the nun and gasped for air. Then, he looked at the nun and raised his hand to punch her after saying, "What did you do to me?!"
[Congratulations! Soul Powers have been awakened!]
"I… didn't do anything…" the nun replied with her voice full of fear.
"What did you do to me?!" Zach asked again, but unlike the first time, he asked with a smile on his face.
"I…"
"How did you do that?" Zach asked.
The nun was more confused than Zach, so asking her wasn't an option.
Zach pondered for a while for the possible reasons his soul powers finally awakened. Then, he remembered what the nun said a while ago.
"You said I am your God, and you will worship me, right?" Zach asked the nun in a calm voice.
The nun nodded in response and said, "Because you are the god."
"I see…"
Out of all the players stuck in Gods' Impact, some wanted to get out of the game, while others wanted to beat the gods and become a new god.
Zach, however, was already a god.
***
Total players in the game 404804.
0 new players logged in.
52 players died.
=====
Author's note- Finally!
94 CHAPTER 93- PUNISHING ARIA
Zach went back to the inn and met up with Aria and Aurora.
Zach thought Aurora would ask him questions, but much to his surprise, Aurora didn't ask him anything and acted as usual. He was confused at first, but Aria told him that she was traumatized by the scene in the room.
They reached home and took turns taking a bath. Zach went first and came out 5 minutes later, and then Aurora went to take a bath.
Zach was sitting on the living room couch, and Aria was doing something in the kitchen.
Zach glanced at Aria and noticed she was in a serious mood, so he decided to mess with her.
"Hey, servant, give me water," he said with a smirk on his face.
"..." Aria frowned her face after hearing that. But she had to give him water even if she didn't want to.
Aria filled the class with water and brought it to Zach. "Here."
Zach moved his hand to grab the glass, but Aria purposely spilled it on his head.
"My apologies," she said with a smug look on her face.
Zach glared at Aria as his face twitched in anger.
"That's it. I am going to punish you later," Zach asserted.
"You can't do that."
"I actually can," Zach retorted. "I am your master, and I can make you do anything I want. So get ready for your punishment."
At the same time, Aurora came out of the bathroom, so Aria dashed in to save herself from the punishment.
Aurora looked at Zach and said, "Why haven't you wiped your hair yet?"
"I had—"
"No excuses." Aurora walked to Zach and started wiping his head with her towel.
"...."
Zach took a deep sniff and uttered inwardly: 'She smells so nice.'
'Even though we used the same soap and shampoo, why does she smell different?' Zach asked himself.
After that, they went to their respective room, but as expected, Aurora came into Zach's room to sleep with him.
Aurora wasn't speaking anything, but Zach could tell she felt terrible after seeing such a scene.
Zach looked at Aurora, who was sleeping nicely beside him, and thought, 'She was acting all touchy all day. So I was expecting something interesting to happen tonight, not going to lie. But let her sleep.'
Even though Zach said that, he kept staring at Aurora's body.
'I can still smell her scent. And because she just took a bath, her skin looks softer than before.' Zach face-palmed himself and thought, 'Why is she alw3ays sleeping when I am in the mood?'
Zach somehow managed to abstain from himself and fall asleep. However, he opened his eyes after two hours and sat up on the bed.
'I forgot to punish Aria.'
Zach looked at Aurora and confirmed she was sleeping. Then, he got off the bed and left the room.
'What if her door is locked?'
Zach tried to open Aria's door, and fortunately, it was open.
He entered the room and found Aria sleeping on the bed in her nightgown. He then walked to the bed and moved his hand to touch Aria in order to wake her up.
"Just so you know, I am awake," Aria uttered with her eyes closed.
"Then wake up…" Zach uttered in disbelief.
Aria opened her eyes and covered her chest with the blanket before asking, "Why are you sneaking into a girl's room when you already have one in your room?"
Zach furrowed his brows and said, "You already know why I am here."
Aria moved to the corner of the bed and said, "You are here to assault me?"
Zach stared at Aria in disbelief and uttered, "Why would you even think that?"
"Well, I am a girl, and you are a boy," Aria replied with a shrug.
"You are neither Aurora nor Victoria, so don't worry about that." After a brief pause, he said, "I am not saying I would assault Victoria or Aurora, by the way."
"Then why are you here?"
"I am here to punish you, obviously," Zach replied nonchalantly.
Aria's face turned pale after hearing that.
"Come on… it was just a little prank… there is no need… to…" Aria stuttered on her words and couldn't even complete the sentence.
"I need to teach you a lesson," Zach said with a smirk on his face.
Aria bit her lips and glared at Zach.
"First off all…" Zach pointed his finger on the floor and said, "Get on the floor."
Aria reluctantly got off the bed and got on her knees. But, she still had the same expression on her face.
"This face is a pleasure to my eyes…" Zach stated with an alluring gaze.
He sat on the bed and ordered, "Now add 'Nya~' to whatever you say."
"If I don't speak anything, I won't have to say it… Nya~" Aria covered her mouth after saying that.
"This is so much fun."
Zach had a hidden sadistic nature, which he hadn't realized until now.
"Well, you said you won't speak anything, so I guess that order was useless…" Zach sighed and said, "I take back that order."
Aria removed her hands from her mouth and kept glaring at Zach.
"What should I make you do…" Zach pondered for a while and then moved his finger to Aria.
"What?" Aria asked with a confused look on her face.
"Suck it," Zach ordered.
"What?!" Aria exclaimed.
"Suck it."
"I will remember this humiliation," Aria uttered in a low voice and began sucking Zach's finger.
"Use your tongue too," Zach uttered in a calm voice. "And don't you dare try to bite my finger. If you do, then I will make you suck something else, and believe me, you wouldn't want that."
Aria sucked Zach's finger and used her tongue around it.
Suddenly, Zach pulled his finger back and turned his face to the side.
'What the fuck?! It felt so good that I almost got a boner!'
"Are you done?" Aria asked impatiently.
"Uhh… let me just apologize for my actions first," Zach apologized sincerely.
"Apology rejected," Aria uttered in a solemn voice.
"Come on~" Zach groaned. "I admit I went too far."
Aria puffed her cheeks and turned her face to the side with a "Hmph!"
'That was cute… but it doesn't suit her…'
"Uhh…" Zach cleared her throat and said, "Let's go to your domain. I want your help with something."
***
Total players in the game 404804.
0 new players logged in.
114 players died.
===
95 CHAPTER 94- ARIA'S DOMAIN
"Let's go to your domain. I want to practice some things," Zach uttered in a calm voice.
Aria covered her chest with her hands and said, "What do you mean by practice?"
"No questions…"
Aria reluctantly stood up and stared at Zach.
"What are you waiting for? Open the dan portal," Zach uttered with a sigh.
"You have the key to open it," Aria remarked.
"Uhh…" Zach raised his brows with a puzzled look on his face, "So you can't open your own domain?"
"I can open the portal from my domain to this world, but I can't open the portal to my domain from this world," Aria responded in a calm voice.
SIGH!
Zach sighed and conjured Aria's token in his hand. Then he turned to Aria and asked, "How do I open it?"
Aria shrugged her shoulders and said, "Maybe speak something?"
Zach looked at the token and muttered, "Open the portal to the domain."
The token turned into a key, and a portal appeared in front of Zach and Aria. However, the portal had a keyhole in between to activate it.
Zach inserted the key and turned it twice before turning it to the different side three times.
"What did you do?" Aria asked with a confused yet calm look on her face.
"I asked her, 'Mother, how do you know that the portal will activate with this pattern?'. And she replied with 'It's not the portal we are trying to open, it's the pattern'."
Zach turned to Aria and asked, "Do you know what that means?"
"Uhh… I guess I do…?" Aria replied with a puzzled yet calm look on her face.
"Oh?" Zach raised his brows and asked, "Care to explain?"
"I think it means that whatever the lock is and whatever the key is, as long as you have a pattern, the lock will open," Aria stated.
"But why would it open?" Zach knew the answer, but he was testing Aria's knowledge.
"The pattern is the correct key, not the actual key," Aria answered in a calm voice.
Zach clapped his hands and said, "Correct."
The portal activated, and Zach and Aria went inside.
Zach looked around and saw the beautiful scenery he saw when he had entered Aria's domain for the first time.
"My domain can't even compare the beauty of the death world created by the foolish gods," Aria asserted in a proud voice.
"I have asked you before, and I will ask you again…" Zach glanced at Aria and asked, "What is this place?"
"This is the replica of what once used to be my home," Aria responded with a distant smile on her face.
"Can you change this to… well… that hell-like place?" Zach snorted.
Aria clapped her hands twice, and the scenery changed.
"And what is this place?" Zach asked.
"This is what my home looks like now," Aria answered and added, "Although this is just a replica."
Zach glanced around and stood in the middle where he once fought Aria.
He could see the broken pieces of the stones and the brunt lava.
Aria noticed Zach was smiling, so she furrowed her brows and asked, "What are you laughing for?"
"This place has become nostalgic to me." Zach looked at Aria with a smile on his face and asked, "It shares an important memory."
Aria's face flushed for a second, but it went back to normal soon after.
Zach looked at Aria's throne that was hovering in the air and smirked. He shot a glance at Aria and jumped on Aria's throne.
"Don't you dare—!"
Before Aria could stop Zach or even say anything, Zach landed on Aria's throne and sat on top of it.
Aria frowned her face and yelled, "That's my throne! Get down!"
"Oh?" Zach smirked even more and said with a smug look on his face, "Is that how you talk to your master?"
Aria bit her lips and kept glaring at Zach with murderous intent.
"Come on~" Zach let out a loud groan and said, "Why are you angry? I am just sitting here."
Aria didn't say anything and kept staring at Zach.
"Fine~" Zach tapped on the space beside him and said, "Come sit with me. This throne is big enough for five people."
Aria jumped and sat beside Zach on the throne. She shot a glance at him and said, "Do you know what this means?"
"What?"
"A man and a woman sitting on the same throne…" After a brief pause, "It's a custom to consider the pair sitting on the throne as a king and a queen."
"Well, we are technically married, so it's not a big deal," Zach replied with a shrug.
Aria's face flushed again, but she managed to get it back to normal.
Aria tried to divert the topic and asked, "So? Why are we here?"
"I want you to teach me magic," Zach asserted.
"But don't you know magic?" Aria asked with a confused look on her face. "Why do you want me to teach it?"
"Let me rephrase my sentence." Zach sighed and said, "I want you to teach me to have perfect control over my magic."
"....Like?"
"I have been trying to use it with my DT skill for a couple of days, but I can't seem to get it right," Zach uttered in a low voice. "But I was successful once. Although I can't seem to do it again."
Aria pondered for a while and said, "What's your physique?"
"It's celestial. Why?"
"So that means your body will have no problem containing the power," Aria responded in a calm voice.
"I am not sure about that," Zach commented. "The thing is that I couldn't use magic in the real world, so my body is not trained to use magic."
"Hmm." Aria pondered for a while and asked, "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Don't get angry, though."
"Okay, I won't."
Aria looked into Zach's eyes and asked, "Who is your father?"
***
Total players in the game 404669.
0 new players logged in.
21 players died.
===
Author's Note- Anyone here watched 'Spiderman No way home'?
96 BONUS CHAPTER CHAPTER 95- ACHIEVING GODHOOD
"Who is your father?"
"..."
"You promised me you won't get angry," Aria remarked.
"I am not angry," Zach sighed and uttered, "My father was a normal human."
"But… when we first met, you said you have your father's powers and blood…" Aria was confused. She thought she remembered wrong, but it wasn't her fault.
"Yes. But my father was a human before. He wasn't born with… well, powers and all. He got it from someone," Zach replied. "And to be honest, I don't know much about my father. He was rarely home to spend time with me. He was always busy. I trained hard every day, hoping he would come home and pat me on the head."
"I was… uhh… as you know, I was born without magic, so I couldn't do things my father wanted me to do. I was sure he was disappointed in me. At least, that's what I thought until he told me that he was proud of me. And then one day, when I turned seven… he died in a battle."
"Did he die in front of you?"
Zach didn't say anything and simply shook his head in response.
"Did you see him die?" Aria asked in a calm voice.
Zach shook his head again.
"Uhh… What about his… umm… his dead body? Did you see it?"
"No. It was never found," Zach replied.
"Then he might not be dead, you know?" Aria reassured with an anxious look on her face.
"Then why did he never come home? Why did he never come back to us?"
Aria regretted giving false hope to Zach. Now, she had no words to say.
Zach let out a weary sigh and uttered, "Don't worry about it. If he is truly alive, then I will beat the shit out of him and ask him the reason."
Aria scoffed after hearing that, and so did Zach.
"But you were born with powers, right?"
"Yeah. Some of them," Zach nodded.
"Then… how did you use the wrath of the Phoenix?" Aria asked in a hesitant tone.
"When I was born, I was blessed by many celestial beings including elder Phoenix, elder dragon, grandmaster elf, demon lord, and apparently a god too— although I don't remember who," Zach asserted in a solemn voice.
"No wonder you are so strong," Aria remarked.
"Oh!" Zach suddenly exclaimed and said, "I also finally awakened my soul powers a while ago."
"What?!" Aria exclaimed even louder. "You… you… I can't believe it."
Aria rubbed her hand on her face and thought, 'Soul powers enhance the powers depending on how strong the soul core is. So if Zach was without soul powers when we made the contract… I can't imagine how strong he will get after his soul core reaches its maximum limit.'
"What's wrong?" Zach raised his brows and said, "And why are you acting like I do when I am speechless and frustrated."
After hearing that, Aria's face flushed, and she covered it with her hands.
"I am not copying you," Aria said in a muffled voice.
"Anyway, can you help me out?" Zach asked in a respectful tone.
"How did you awaken your soul powers?" Aria asked in a muffled voice.
"I myself have no idea, but I think it happened because the nun called me a god. She also said she would worship me," Zach asserted.
"Then that was the trigger," Aria quipped.
"The gods gain more power when someone worships them." Aria glanced at Zach with a serious look on her face and said, "That's why those cheeky pests introduced worshiping in the game."
Zach knitted his brows at Aria and asked, "So… I am a god?"
Aria nodded and said, "You said a god had blessed you with power, so that's probably the reason," Aria explained with a surprised tone.
"Hmm~" Zach raised his brows with a curious look on his face and asked, "So does that mean I will get stronger if someone worships me?"
Aria nodded in response and said, "As I said, that makes the gods more powerful."
Zach pondered for a while and declared with a snap: "Time to start my own religion!"
"Argh~" Aria let out a loud groan after hearing that.
Zach furrowed his brows and said, "What's with that groan?"
"Nothing."
'She never learns.' Zach sighed and uttered, "I order you to tell me the truth."
Aria bit her lips and said, "I lost my sister because of a religion."
"..." Zach averted his gaze and muttered, "I don't plan to be like other gods."
After a brief silence, Aria turned to Zach and asked, "If you awakened your soul powers recently, then you should learn soul cultivation."
Zach stared at Aria with a serious look and uttered, "I have no idea what that means. Believe me, my knowledge of cultivation is close to none."
"Let me give you an example." Aria pondered for a while and said, "Imagine a balloon, for example."
"I imagined it."
"If you fill the water in that balloon and keep filling it, eventually, the balloon will explode because of the excess amount of water. Because it was trying to contain something more than its capacity."
"Hmm." Zach nodded and asked, "And?"
"The balloon is your physical body in the real world, and the water is your power which is increasing day by day. And you just awakened your soul power too."
"Wait…" Zach knitted his brows and asked with an anxious look on his face: "Are you saying my real body is in danger?"
"It can be. If your body gets strained because of the power, it can cause injury that can lead to death, you know?"
If a player died in Gods' Impact, they would die in the real world too. Similarly, if a player died in the real world, they would also die in Gods' Impact.
"I will be damned…" Zach muttered under his breath.
***
Total players in the game 404611.
0 new players logged in.
58 players died.
===
Author's Note- To anyone wondering— Yes! It's (blushing) Aria on the current cover,