Ch 4: The Saviours

While the mundane creatures had grown tired of the never ending bloodshed and destruction, Lady Nature finally awoke from Her deep slumber. Landforms shifted; land masses merged to form a single landmass, then divided again, lands rose and formed many structures, some of them hills, mountains, plateaus. The potent energy that the planet held deep inside it burst through the grounds spewing molten magma over vast distances which later cooled down. The living creatures at this time underwent massive changes as well. Demons under the numerous onslaught started growing more stronger both physically and mentally,just so that they could cope up with the tortures the humans imposed on them. Soon they had slain all the humans of an insignificant kingdom that had divided from the mainland...now they ruled it in blood and fire. Humans on the other hand couldn't care less about this slaughter of their own kind for they waged war among themselves over the slightest differences in their opinion, in their skin colour, in their languages...while the demons irrespective of their differences stood united. It is firmly believed that the first common ruler of the demons was the principle reason behind this success...who later came to be known as Lady Unity herself.

[~Ding~]

Jurel suddenly paused.

Though he was excited knowing he was getting a system, something made him quite uncomfortable. He couldn't put his finger on the feeling but he felt as if a strange gaze had been transfixed on him.

The weird part being that he felt the gaze from all the eight cardinal directions, it felt as if ready to devour him.

At that moment, he felt as if he were just a mere prey.

As soon as he felt it, the gaze vanished, leaving Jurel at ease again. He sighed a breath of relief which was cut short by another chimming sound.

[Welcome to the World of Zenim]

[ Name: Jurel

Race: Human

Age: 18

Talent: Divine

Bloodline Progenitor: The First Holy Emperor ]

Jurel's mouth gaped open in utter shock. Divine?! Isn't that the top of the cream?!

And the Holy Emperor!!

Was he given some specific avator from the game to play with?!

'Am I...am I the protagonist...?' he couldn't help but dare to think such seeing the ridiculous stats in front of him.

But before he could delve further into his imaginations, another notification chimmed in.

[Initiating the Shift]

[Jurel successfully registered]

[ Son of Divine Birth, you are under the watchful eyes of the Watcher ]

Before his consciousness faded again...only to be replaced by another ridiculous scene...this time he found himself afloat on the clouds, small wisps of their soft and fluffy stuff wheezing past him.

Though this time he wasn't alone.

"Wow, would you look at that? We are actually floating haha"

"Seems my money won't go to waste this time."

Players were present all around him; they kept on mumbling among themselves, some already making acquaintances, others looking around and observing, sometimes commenting, while whole batches of new players kept on streaming in every second.

Meanwhile, Jurel was sweating a lot.

'No no no...if these many players arrive, how shall I choose my username?! I need to type fucking fast.'

As if answering his thoughts, a system notification dinged, making all the players go silent.

[Choose an username to be displayed to fellow players]

Almost immediately, thousands of hands struck forward, jamming down names on the seemingly translucent but opaque system screen in front of their vision. From above, it looked like a messy tangle of limbs, sometimes crashing into each other

While a few others and the indecisive ones contemplated over something unique.

Jurel on the other hand had a pitiful look on his face.

[Username 'Lone Boy' has already been taken. Please choose another.]

He couldn't take his eyes of the screen which kept on hovering in front of him, as if mocking him.

'Tsk, Fine! I shall choose another...though I shall surely make the one who took away my name pay for this.' He inwardly clicked his tongue before thinking upon a new name.

'Hmm, how about...'

[ Username 'Bastard Hunter' successfully registered ]

Jurel nodded in satisfaction upon seeing this.

'A suitable name for hunting down a bastard who dared to take away my name.'

With a smile playing on his lips, he looked around to see several players already done with their registration.

Soon, another timer appeared with a countdown of 5 minutes, which soon passed by.

Players started disappearing again, Jurel included.

∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆

When his eyes opened again, for a fleeting moment, his heart skipped a beat.

He can't be blamed; afterall, what he was seeing in front of him could give anyone chills and make them cringe.

At a short distance away from him and all the fellow gamers, there were columns of people arranged in rows, all of them kneeling and bowing by touching their foreheads to the ground.

"All Hail the Saviours! All Hail the Entity!"

Choruses rang out throughout the barren fields, sending shivers down many spines; the intertwined voices of so many people felt more like that of a cult than normal devotion.

...Though among the players, few had their chests puffed out, seemingly flattered with such a greeting.

"These NPCs feel so real, man!"

Nobody could agree any less.

Their voices didn't feel like they had only been following a specific tone and script. Their figures looked real, radiating the same warmth as them. They looked like they had ... individuality.

What an epic work, was what most thought and praised the creators.

Few 'crazy' ones even believed that they were not NPCs but real people-- though the gaming industry had denied all such 'nonsense' beforehand.

Still they couldn't deny the unexpected lifelike appearance. Well, not uncompletely unexpected given that the players' expectations must have been on par with that of the games in the novels.

In the midst of all these speculations, a regional notification rang out in the open skies, prompting every player to look up.

[ Welcome to the Starter Zone 1024 ]

[ NPCs would treat you as a saviour. Please behave as such.]

[Warning ⚠️

You are in a danger zone. Zones 1 to 350 have been classified as safe zones whereas Zones 351 to Zone 1024 have been classified as danger zones.

Wish you all good luck, as you grow stronger! ]

The players had mixed reactions seeing the notification, especially the last part. Some were exhilarated after getting to know that they were not only at the Last Zone but also in a danger zone.

More fun! More adventure!

Others didn't look too happy as their thoughts bordered on unfairness shown toward the danger zones.

'Why would the safe zone guys enjoy the relative safety and easiness compared to us?' seemed to be the common thinking.

'Oh, the irony', perhaps this would be what they would all say in the near future.

Not minding this inequality in the game, Jurel scanned the crowd of players, already deciding his mode of play.

On one hand, going solo would be advantageous to him since he wouldn't have to be linked with any team and their expectations.

But the teaser explicitly showed few very strong fighters in Zenim which were speculated by fans to be the bosses. As such, it might not even be possible for a single player to take them on. Thus, joining a team under this circumstance seemed to be the more obvious choice.

'Well, I guess I am doing both. Play solo, join a team temporarily, and leave it to go for solo again.'

He tittered, thinking how his own plan might get him banned from every team in the future.

Other players hurried as well, making teams and discussing plans. A guild's foundation was also being laid.

The drama unfolds...with one side being the 'wise', bowing their heads to have more chances at survival and the other, the 'green', walking the life they have yet to explore.

Meanwhile, in another part of the planet, someone stirred in their sleep.