Chapter 1 - New World

Laughter echoed through the halls of a tavern, where the joy came not from food and drink but from the camaraderie among the groups seated at the tables. A beautiful symphony of entertainment and relaxation that many of them truly needed; after all, an adventurer's work environment could often be quite hazardous and deadly.

"Uah! Here, bring me another! I want another mug!" A half-elf girl sighed happily as she drank all the beer from her mug.

"You sure are enjoying yourself, Lynas," a young man stated, slowly sipping his drink and trying his best not to get close to the half-elf girl since he knew she could get quite physical while drunk. But not in the way one would think. Lynas then showed why he was trying to move slightly away from her by the way she slammed her hand on the back of this poor fellow, almost forcing him to spit his drink out and let out a small groan of pain, knowing that she had marked the palm of her hand on his back.

"Of course, I am enjoying myself, Alex! We just completed our first dungeon! Aren't you happy?!" Lynas grinned widely, showcasing how content and proud she was of their recent adventure. It's not that Alex wasn't as happy as she was, but in his opinion, the reality of that particular event was a disappointment.

Their first dungeon was different from what he expected it to be. It was a well-known location, a rite of passage for new adventurers like them. The monsters there were easily defeated. Even an ordinary villager could destroy them with enough courage. Flumphs were a pest more than anything and spread like maniacs. But were they deadly or dangerous to anyone? Never.

Alex felt like a pest control employee rather than an adventurer.

Once again, Alex felt Lynas slam her hand on his back, causing him to hiss in pain.

"What's with that long face?!" Lynas now exclaimed, annoyed at him for not sharing the same joy as her. "You truly think that killing those Flumphs is not worth our happiness?"

"They are just Flumphs...! We just roll them over!" Alex replied, aggravated. "We're supposed to be adventurers, right? To go and face the unknown! Explore ancient ruins abandoned by all! Not work as a pest controller!"

Amidst the bustling hall of adventurers, Alex's voice boomed with frustration, his discontentment palpable. Though his outburst was a tad too loud for Lynas's liking, she couldn't help but empathise with his emotions. As a newbie adventurer herself, she knew all too well the frustrations that came with the territory. And she wasn't alone. Even the most skilled adventurers in the room could understand and relate to Alex's plight.

"We are just beginning, Alex," Lynas sighed, replying calmly. "We are Tier 1 adventurers, Alex. We are in the Beginner Rank. The guild will not give us more than we can chew."

Lynas said, showing the small necklace both Alex and she had—the proof of their rank in the guild. "I know you wanted to go out and explore the deepest and darkest dungeon, but we must be cautious. Yes? It's dangerous out there."

Alex swallowed his words and simply hung his head, muttering a few words of encouragement before calming down. "You're right; I apologise. I should've not screamed at you."

"It's alright!"

Lynas grinned at him. Even though they'd known each other for a month, she could admit that she liked him. However, some things were hidden underneath his gentle face, like how a wizard like him, who could use up to Advance Tier Magic and was born with a talent, could be in such a remote city on the Eastern side of the tiny Kingdom of Aplacia, in what people called the most peaceful and boring nation in all of Equidaeria.

It didn't make sense, at least not to her.

Still, Lynas won't pry yet. Their relationship wasn't that deep or intimate. But she wouldn't lie—she was intrigued.

"Don't worry about it," Lynas chuckled, soon watching the new mugs of beer arrive at the table. "Here! Drink with me!"

Alex shook his head, watching the half-elf girl drink to her heart's content. Lynas' short greenish hair framed her face, drawing attention to the delicate freckles scattered across her cheeks. Her tomboyish nature added an extra layer of allure, making her a captivating presence to behold. Alex knew it was the simple nature of an elf to be that beautiful, even though Lynas shared half of the blood of those ancient beings. Lynas' beauty wasn't to be scoffed at, regardless of how brash and loud she could be.

"Hey! C'mon drink!" Lynas exclaimed now, loudly, as Alex sighed amusingly.

"Alright, but be careful. I am a human. We don't share the same tolerance as you."

"Piss on that! Drink until you can't move!"

The young adventurers began to drink before all joviality vanished, as they soon heard a bit of commotion from the tavern's entrance. Alex glanced and was quickly met with a sombre sight as a beautiful girl around his age entered the establishment. Her long blue hair was tainted with what Alex would call ashes, and the bandage around her face, covering her left eye, hid a nasty burn that tarnished half of her face.

The agony was intensified by the look on her face. Even though she could only reveal one of her blue eyes, it was clear that she had just witnessed something unimaginably terrible.

"Oi! Oi! Look, isn't she one of the heroes that was drafted four months ago?"

"Aye! I remember now! The city's Hero Guild sent their best Tier 2 heroes to the Hellfront. A bunch of Preserver and Liberator Rank heroes."

"The Hellfront? To face the Demon King's armies?"

"Yeah, I heard rumours that it didn't go well. The Demon King sent his strongest Demon Lords to face the Holy Templar Knights and the Dragon Lords. It was a full-blown battle, with lots of casualties."

"Who won?"

"Pff, who knows? This is the first time in thirty years that both sides have faced each other on such a magnitude. The battle may not be over yet. But one thing is clear: This girl is the only survivor of the hero group sent by the Aplacia's Kingdom Hero Guild."

"That's rough! Losing an entire Tier 2 batch of heroes is bad for the kingdom."

"It is... it truly is."

Alex heard with keen interest the conversation of some of the adventurers nearby. In his opinion, the whispers and gawking stares at the poor girl were unwelcoming. But even he couldn't deny how unusual it was to hear that an entire Tier 2 hero group had been eliminated like nothing. In fact, it was pretty terrifying to hear.

The Adventurer and Hero guilds used a tier system that divided the members based on rank and experience.

While rank or tier does not necessarily equate to an individual's power all the time, it does indicate their level of experience and respect within the guild—nevertheless, no matter the kingdom or the continent. Typically, a Tier 2 hero or adventurer was someone above the average soldier, an individual capable of using above Basic-Tier magic and abilities. They make up the bulk of any guild. Since Tier 3 heroes or adventurers were often small in numbers, sometimes only a few groups would be active per nation. And Tier 4 consisted of only a few individuals across the world.

Yet, not even they would face the Demon King's armies and his demon lords in such a rash manner. What was the Hero Guild thinking? Alex thought as he watched the girl walk away after renting a room.

"Poor girl," Lynas muttered, not hiding her pity for the poor young hero girl. "Still, I wonder why the Hero Guild would make such a decision. It's not like the Holy Kingdom needs help, right? They've been fighting demons for centuries. I think they know how to handle it."

Alex did not reply but thought the same.

Strange indeed.

The soothing sound of a river humming gently while the water crashed tenderly on the stones made for a symphony of tranquillity echoing through the forest. The chirping of the birds in the distance, that ray of the sun caressing the leaves on top of the trees.

A beautiful place, without a doubt.

However, the appearance of an unusual entity or person abruptly disturbed the tranquil atmosphere. A motionless woman lay beside the riverbank, cold and not breathing. The surrounding wildlife instinctively avoided the evil emanating from her. The birds fled when they sensed the darkness radiating from her. The lingering malevolence of this person would haunt the area forever. Yet, one would fall for her if one were to look at this evil being.

A true beauty, one that could represent the sin of desire. However, a sudden gasp for air brought up the woman with snowy white hair. The feeling of being pulled under and drowning couldn't be more unpleasant. She frantically turned her head around, trying to understand what had happened to her. The woman tried to stand up, but the sudden feeling of being taller than before initially made her stumble.

"What...?" She muttered before feeling an odd thing behind her. So, as if she were a dog, she began to look behind her, trying to catch whatever that thing was. Of course, she accomplished her goal after a few seconds of pathetically failing.

"A tail... I have a tail?" The woman mumbled, baffled by it. But soon, memories of what happened arrived in her mind. All at the same time. "It can't be..."

She stumbled to the river and looked down at her reflection, and what she expected to see was not there.

"This is not possible. I must be dreaming," the woman muttered, carefully touching her cheeks, hair, and those horns. She realised that she was not dreaming. "I am my avatar... I am Avnas."

Avnas closed her eyes and opened them again. Yet, everything stayed the same. She was still there. Avnas then recalled her last memories vividly. She was in her room, ready to play Antherion, before that horrible pain sensation came to her. That torturous feeling of her head being squeezed, of being crammed. Then, the fear of death engulfed her without being able to escape.

"Did I die?" Avnas asked out loud. It was not a strange question to ask if one were in her situation. Avnas thought that maybe her real body was in her apartment still, unmoving, dead, rotting away. A bleak thought, to be sure. But oddly enough, she was now composed, calm and in control of her feelings in such a strange situation.

Now, Avnas knew herself better than most. She knew something was wrong with her. After all, Avnas wasn't panicking like she would typically do. Or crying and having problems breathing in the face of uncertainty.

"Why do I feel so in control?" Avnas muttered before noticing her voice. "Is this my voice?"

Her previous high-pitched voice was the reason she refused to talk much. Avnas felt like it was an annoyance to just hear it. However, now her new voice was smooth and soothing, like the type one would like to hear when telling a story.

"This is too much to take," Avnas sighed before noticing that she was wearing her armour. [Amon Battlearmor], and then it hit her. Quickly, she tried to see if she could bring up the game's menu. "Uh, how could I...?"

While using the VR headset, users could efficiently execute commands by speaking them out loud or thinking about them if they were using newer VR models. Avnas meticulously thought through her menu and was pleasantly surprised to find that it worked seamlessly. And while the menu was quite different from before. All of her stats remained the same except for one key difference.

"What is this?" Avnas muttered as she became perplexed by a particular statistic in her stats.

[Avnas]

-Level 180/???-

"No level cap?" Avnas was confused but also intrigued that the cap was no longer there. "This can't be right. This goes against the Antherion level system. I shouldn't be able to level up more. But then again, this could mean that I am not in Antherion. This is no longer a game."

Avnas's inner anxieties surfaced, but they vanished as quickly as they came. Uncertainty had no place in a demon of her level.

Avnas debated with herself what she could do now. Truthfully, if anyone were in her shoes, what would they do? She would like to know. Yet, while still confused and having a hard time believing all of this was real and not hallucinations of her mind while she was in a coma. Then, it could change for her.

She thought of life until this point. Those long work hours, the emptiness of her home, the abuse she suffered. A long list of things she regretted and hated to think about. All behind her now, away from her.

I will no longer be Elaine, the weak girl, but Avnas... the Demon Empress. Avnas' smile grew with excitement at the possibilities that lay before her. But was it truly because of that? Or was that her new self talking?

"I am not going back," Avnas whispered before sensing fire inside her. "I will not go back!"

Soon, Avnas looked at the sky—a pure, beautiful sky that invited her in—and shouted. "[Gehenna Tempesta]" Soon, a massive firestorm broke out, engulfing everything in its path without regard for her well-being, not that she needed to be careful. Avnas would never be hurt by fire of any kind. The fire she invoked was different. It was evil in nature, almost alive. It did more than just consume the trees and fauna around her. It tainted and perverted the soil itself. Nothing would ever grow here. Life as it was would forever cease to exist.

The firestorm was so unbelievably massive that it could be seen from miles away. The Kingdom of Aplacia bore witness to such an event.

Things would change now for Avnas. After all, she was free.