First.
A burst of light flared as the final enemy collapsed, its form dissolving into shimmering particles. The battlefield fell silent, save for the distant crackle of embers where Leon's spells had scorched the earth.
[Level Up! You have reached Level 20.]
Rael exhaled, lowering his sword. The weight of exhaustion settled in, but it was the good kind—the kind that came after a long, productive grind. Around him, Leon and Gale were finishing off the last stragglers, cutting them down with swift efficiency.
Leon stretched with an audible groan, rolling his shoulders. "Finally. I swear, if we had to kill one more—"
Gale wiped his blade against his gauntlet. "You'd what? Complain louder?"
Leon shot him a glare. "I'd log out mid-fight. Just watch."
Rael barely listened, his focus on the glowing system window before him. Level 20. A threshold. A dividing line between the early game and everything that came after.
— Status Window —
Name: Noctus
Class: Templar
Level: 20
Affiliation: Eclipse [Guild Leader]
[Stats]
HP: 280/280
MP: 180/180
Stamina: 160/160
[Attributes]
Strength: 23
Dexterity: 18
Endurance: 16
Constitution: 22
Intelligence: 16
Charisma: 5
Free Stat Points: 3
————————————————————
Skills:
Holy Edge – Channels divine energy into a weapon, allowing attacks to deal additional radiant damage. Against unholy or undead enemies, the effect is doubled.
Holy Aura – Generates a faint golden glow that boosts nearby allies' resistance to dark and cursed effects while slightly increasing their stamina recovery. At higher mastery levels, it provides passive healing over time.
Basic Swordsmanship – Fundamental proficiency with swords, increasing attack precision and efficiency. Reduces stamina consumption when swinging a blade and improves counterattack speed.
Fleeting Dash – A sudden burst of speed that allows for rapid repositioning. Can be used to close distances or evade attacks. While active, movement speed is increased for a short duration.
Holy Touch – Imbues the user's hands with divine energy, allowing them to heal minor wounds or deal extra damage to unholy entities upon contact. Scales with Intelligence and skill mastery.
—————————————————————
A new notification appeared at the bottom.
[You have reached Level 20. You may now choose a subclass.]
Rael flexed his fingers, rolling out the tension from the long grind. "Looks like I'm the first to hit 20."
Gale let out a low whistle. "Damn. Didn't realize we were that far in already."
Leon groaned, shaking out his arms. "You say 'far in' like we're close to anything. Level 20's just the beginning."
Rael smirked. "Yeah. But it's where things really start."
Gale sheathed his sword. "You can pick a subclass now, right?"
"Yeah." Rael pulled up his menu, his eyes scanning the available options. But before he could make a selection—
[Detected: Zenith Fragment.]
[A dormant power stirs within you.]
[Unique Evolution Path Unlocked – World Ender.]
[Warning: Choosing this path will permanently replace your current class. You will be unable to select a subclass.]
[Would you like to proceed?]
Rael froze. He hadn't expected this. Every player was supposed to gain a subclass at level 20, but this wasn't an addition—it was a replacement. A complete overwrite of his class.
Templar was solid. Balanced. Safe. But World Ender…
The name alone sent a thrill down his spine. No description. No preview. Just a choice wrapped in mystery.
Rael stared at it for a moment. He didn't know what the fragment really did, but something about this felt right. A leap into the unknown.
He took it.
[Class Evolution Complete.]
[You are the first to awaken this path.]
[Unique Class Change: World Ender.]
[Subclass selection revoked.]
Rael skimmed the notifications, his grip tightening slightly. World Ender. A unique path.
For a moment, he considered the possibility—could other Zenith fragments grant the same class to someone else? If another player stumbled upon one, would they walk this same road?
But the system had been clear. Unique.
Rael let out a quiet breath, his eyes flicking back to the menu. So this game has game-breaking things, huh?
A small grin tugged at the corner of his lips. He wasn't complaining. If the world had exploits, it was up to him to find them first.
One thing was certain—he had to keep this under wraps. A unique class wasn't just an advantage. It was a target.
Gale's voice cut in. "Man, you've been staring at your screen forever. Thinking about your subclass?"
Rael blinked, then gave a small shrug. "Yeah. Just checking my options."
Leon scoffed. "It's not that deep. Pick something solid, and we'll figure the rest out later."
"Easy for you to say," Rael said, closing the menu. "You're not the one picking right now."
Gale stretched with a yawn. "Well, hurry up. I'm logging off to eat."
Rael nodded. "Same. Just gonna check something first."
"Alright, don't take too long," Leon said, pulling up his menu.
As they logged off one by one, Rael pulled up his status screen.
— Status Window —
Name: Noctus
Class: World Ender
Level: 20
Affiliation: Eclipse [Guild Leader]
[Stats]
HP: 280/280
MP: 180/180
Stamina: 160/160
[Attributes]
Strength: 33(+10)
Dexterity: 28(+10)
Endurance: 16
Constitution: 22
Intelligence: 16
Charisma: 5
Free Stat Points: 3
—————————————————————
Seals Unlocked:
1st Seal – Seal of Awakening (Unlocked)
Ability – Ruinous Strike: A basic attack infused with destructive force, dealing significantly increased damage.
Passive – Unshackled Potential: Strength and Dexterity exceed normal limits, increasing both by +10.
—————————————————————
Rael's eyes flicked down the menu, skimming through his status window—then stopped.
His abilities tab was gone.
In its place, a new section had appeared: Seals Unlocked.
All of his previous Templar skills—Holy Edge, Holy Aura, Fleeting Dash—were nowhere to be found. Instead, a single entry remained:
Everything else had been wiped clean.
His eyes lingered on the lone entry—Seal of Awakening.
Then his eyes widened—Strength and Dexterity had each surged by ten. A boost like that wasn't normal; it was nearly seven levels' worth of growth in an instant!
Power came fast with this class. The question was, how much faster could it climb?
At the bottom of the Seals Unlocked tab, a single line of text pulsed faintly.
Next Seal Unlocks: Upon obtaining another Zenith Fragment.
Rael's eyes narrowed. Not a level requirement.
His previous skills had been tied to progress—training, leveling up, mastery. But this? This was different. His growth as a World Ender hinged entirely on the fragments possibly.
A path locked behind something so rare.
His fingers curled slightly. So that's how it works. If he wanted to push this class further, he had to track down more of those fragments. And if they were anything like the first, they wouldn't just be lying around.
The game had hidden something ridiculous in its depths, and he'd stumbled onto it first.
A thrill stirred in his chest, just beneath his usual calm. He'd been lucky this time—like really really lucky.
Closing the menu, he exhaled slowly, casting one last glance around. Gale and Leon had already logged off. The battlefield was empty now, only the faint shimmer of vanished bodies marking where the fight had been.
Without another word, Rael pulled up his own menu and logged out.
* * *
Rael opened his eyes as the VR pod disengaged, the familiar hum of the system shutting down fading into silence. The transition back to reality always felt a little disorienting, the weight of his real body settling in as he pushed open the pod's lid.
The dim lighting of his apartment greeted him. A quick glance across the room showed Elias' pod still closed, the faint glow of active immersion status blinking on its side.
Still in. Rael didn't bother checking the time. He stretched, rolling out the stiffness in his shoulders, then headed straight for the fridge.
Cracking it open, he grabbed the leftover Chinese takeout from last night—a half-eaten box of fried rice and some dumplings still in their container. He popped the lid, took a sniff, decided it was still edible, and grabbed a fork before plopping onto the couch.
Phone in one hand, food in the other, he did what any sane person would do after a long gaming session—mindlessly scroll the forums.
At first, it was the usual mix of gameplay clips, people showing off rare drops, and heated arguments over whether agility scaling was secretly broken. Then things got progressively ...absurd.
[Thread: I Got a Legendary Drop… and It's a Spoon?]
OP: "So I just killed a dungeon boss, right? Big dramatic fight, super hard, almost died like five times. And my reward? A legendary spoon. Thought it was a joke, but then I checked the description…
Exalted Ladle of the First Feast
(Set Piece – One of Three)
What does this mean. Is this part of some hidden set??"
Top Comments:
— [IronGuts99]: "Oh my god. You've found one of the sacred cutlery.LOL"
— [DrizzleBeef]: "Excuse me. The WHAT."
— [BoneThief]: "Never seen this before. Set item means there's more?"
— [QuantumToast]: "Wait. This game doesn't even have a wiki yet, how do we not know about this?"
— [PillWielder]: "Probably because no one takes loot descriptions seriously."
— [SomethingSomethingIDK]: "Alright, listen up. I found something related to this. Last week, I looted a Manual of the Battle Chef from a hidden dungeon chest. It's super cryptic, but it mentions something called 'The Three Sacred Cutlery.' Says that anyone who gathers them all will undergo a forced class change."
— [OP]: "Forced???"
— [QuantumToast]: "A class change? There aren't even specializations yet. What is this?"
— [SoupSlayerX]: "Battle Chef. That name goes hard."
— [ForkWielder]: "Yeah but what even is a Battle Chef? That manual say anything else?"
— [SomethingSomethingIDK]: "Not much. It's mostly flavor text. Talks about 'wielding the tools of creation and destruction in equal measure' and something about 'throwing out AOE pan attacks.'"
— [BoneThief]: "Okay, that's metal as hell."
— [PillWielder]: "So wait… this class exists, but no one has actually unlocked it?"
— [SomethingSomethingIDK]: "Yeah. Legendary items can have multiple instances, but no one has ever assembled all three. So no one knows what Battle Chef actually does."
— [OP]: "??"
— [SomethingSomethingIDK]: "Yeah, as far as I know, no one has ever had this class. I don't even think the devs confirmed it exists."
— [ForkWielder]: "So OP could be the first?"
— [SomethingSomethingIDK]: "If they find the other two items. Also, I want that ladle. 100k gold."
— [OP]: "???????"
— [QuantumToast]: "Bro just went from 'haha funny spoon' to high-stakes black market trading."
— [BoneThief]: "Man thought he was making soup, turns out he's cooking HISTORY."
Rael exhaled through his nose, amused. This game is truly weird. I got a unique class and now this , a hidden class locked behind legendary-grade silverware? He had no idea what Battle Chef was supposed to be, but the fact that people were already offering ridiculous amounts of gold for a single piece meant something.
Shaking his head, he took a quick screenshot and sent it to Elias with no context.
Then, back to scrolling.
More absurd posts. Someone claiming they saw a player disappear mid-fight. Another arguing that Templars were secretly nerfed in the last patch because their "divine smite feels less smite-y." A full-blown debate over whether the game's economy was already collapsing due to players hoarding crafting materials.
And then, buried between the chaos of memes and conspiracy theories, a single post caught his eye:
"Rumors that VR Capital Hargen to host the first Solmora: Ascent championship."
The thread was already blowing up, with comments flooding in faster than he could read. He scrolled through them, his expression unreadable, but there was a flicker of interest in his eyes.
— [Nekochan99]: "Bro, it's only been two weeks. HOW are they already planning an esports scene??"
— [BreadBorne]: "Because money. Did you see how fast the player base exploded? Of course the VR giants are gonna milk it."
— [DrizzleBeef]: "Okay but is this actually confirmed, or is this just some rando pulling info out of nowhere?"
— [BreadBorne: "No official confirmation yet, but sources say it's coming from inside Hargen."
— [BoneThief]: "Wait. You mean the actual city in the game?"
— [BreadBorne]: "No, I mean Hargen, the VR capital. The real-life one."
Rael's scrolling slowed. Hargen…
He'd never been there himself, but it was common knowledge. Hargen was the tech hub for virtual reality—the beating heart of the industry. Nearly every major VR company had their headquarters there, and if anything big was happening in the world of immersive gaming, Hargen was usually at the center of it.
More comments flooded in:
— [DumbDuck]: "If this is true, that means they're already setting up the infrastructure for pro play. That's insane."
— [Pop-Sickle]: "Imagine playing casually and then suddenly your whole server turns into a tournament bracket."
— [AYAYA909]: "I mean… wasn't this always the goal? Ascent is the first true full-dive game. Of course it was gonna go competitive."
— [Pop-Sickle]: "Yeah, but I thought it'd take longer. This game is still fresh. No one even knows what the meta is yet."
— [BreadBorne]: "It doesn't matter. When the prize pools drop, the guilds are gonna start treating this like a war."
— [AYAYA909]: "Speaking of, has anyone noticed the top guilds are getting really organized all of a sudden?"
Rael exhaled softly through his nose. It wasn't surprising. If there was one thing competitive players excelled at, it was finding an advantage before the casual crowd even realized what was happening. Some of the larger guilds had probably started positioning themselves from day one.
— [EchoFang]: "Okay but like… is anyone else realizing how WILD the competition is gonna be?"
— [IronHandX]: "We already have top-tier guilds forming. And let's not forget the wildest news of all—"
— [DeepFryer]: "Oh, here we go."
— [IronHandX]: "AUREUS IS BACK!"
— [SynthVermin]: "I think he goes by Noctus now."
— [IronHandX]: "AND HE MADE A GUILD. Eclipse. This man just walked in and started setting up shop like he never left."
— [HollowSpecter]: "Yeah, but does he still have it? Four years is a long time."
— [NeonBishop]: "Bro, he attended that pro party. He was talking with the old legends. You think that was casual?"
— [SilentRook]: "Real question is—does it even matter? Solomon's Demons are on top right now. Apex is undefeated. No one's touching him."
— [EchoFang]: "You sure about that? If Eclipse keeps growing, we might actually see a challenge."
— [IronHandX]: "You're crazy. Apex isn't losing to anyone."
Rael stared at the screen for a moment before exhaling through his nose, amused. They're already making predictions?
He leaned back against the couch, letting his phone rest on his chest. The game had only been out for two weeks, yet discussions like this made it feel like it had been around for years. The sheer speed at which Ascent was growing was unreal.
The time dilation update had already shifted things—three hours in-game for every one in real life meant more grinding, more content being uncovered, and a faster skill ceiling for competitive players. And now, with the rumors of a championship in Hargen, things were going to accelerate even further.
He considered his next steps. His guild, Eclipse, was still in its infancy. A few lucky breaks had given them a foothold, but they needed more than that to compete. They needed numbers, strength, and the right people. The top guilds weren't just powerful—they were organized. If they wanted to stand against Solomon's Demons, they had to start building now.
Apex was an unknown factor to him. He'd seen him at the party, but he hadn't spoken to him. The way he carried himself, the way his team followed him—it was clear he was the real deal. Rael knew better than anyone that titles meant nothing. Winning meant everything.
But did he even want to aim for that again?
He frowned slightly, his thoughts blurring together.
The quiet hum of the apartment filled the space. Elias was still in his pod. The dim light from the phone screen cast faint shadows along the ceiling.
Before he could dwell on anything further, the weight of exhaustion settled in. His body relaxed, his breathing slowed, and just like that—
Sleep took him.
* * *
The forest was still. Moonlight filtered through the dense canopy, casting long shadows over the undergrowth. The air smelled of damp earth and blood—a fresh kill from a predator nearby. A pack of direwolves prowled through the trees, their black fur blending seamlessly into the darkness, their growls rumbling low and hungry.
Lucian stood on the thick branch of an ancient oak, barely making a sound. The night wind ruffled his hood, but he remained motionless, golden eyes tracking the movement below. Seven wolves, moving in practiced formation. They were bigger than normal wolves, their muscles rippling under thick coats, claws digging deep into the dirt. Their leader, an alpha with jagged scars across its muzzle, lifted its head and sniffed the air.
Lucian smirked. They don't even know I'm here.
He rolled his shoulders, adjusting his grip on the daggers strapped to his wrists. A faint sheen coated the edges—a passive poison effect. Not lethal, but efficient. His heartbeat slowed.
Then, he vanished.
A flicker of shadows.
The last wolf in the pack never even twitched as a dagger slid between its ribs, piercing its heart. A muffled exhale, and the beast collapsed, its body dissolving into shimmering particles.
No one noticed.
Lucian was already gone.
Another step, another flicker of darkness. He emerged behind the next wolf, severing its spine with a precise strike before vanishing again.
[Enemy Eliminated.]
The pack still hadn't realized they were being hunted.
Too easy.
He moved to the fourth—then the alpha's ears twitched. The beast suddenly turned, glowing yellow eyes locking onto him.
Lucian clicked his tongue. Took you long enough.
A snarl ripped through the night. The remaining wolves whirled, hackles raised, teeth bared. The alpha let out a sharp bark, and the pack lunged as one.
Lucian stepped back—and disappeared.
Claws slashed through empty air. The wolves skidded to a halt, momentarily confused.
Now.
Lucian surged forward.
One wolf leapt—he was already gone. A whisper of steel, and its throat opened in a clean, silent cut.
Another lunged from the side. His dagger met it mid-motion, the force twisting its body before it hit the ground.
The rest never got the chance.
By the time the alpha charged, Lucian was already moving.
The beast lunged, jaws wide, its massive fangs gleaming in the moonlight. But Lucian was a ghost. He sidestepped just enough for the wind of its attack to brush past him, his silhouette blurring into shadows. The alpha's claws carved deep furrows into the dirt where he had just stood.
Then—Lucian vanished again.
The wolf spun, snapping at empty air, its growl turning to a confused snarl. Its instincts screamed—danger. But by the time it reacted, it was too late.
Lucian reappeared above it, upside down in midair, a single dagger poised between his fingers.
A flash of silver.
[Phantom Rend.]
The moment the blade struck, a ripple of darkness erupted, slashing through the alpha's body in an instant. No time to resist. No time to even understand what had happened.
The wolf landed—its muscles locked—its body frozen.
Then, slowly, it collapsed.
[Finishing Strike!]
Lucian landed lightly beside the dissolving corpse, already sheathing his dagger as if the fight had never happened. The last remnants of the wolves shimmered before disappearing, replaced by a list of loot notifications. He barely glanced at them.
Rael...
His fingers curled slightly at the thought. He didn't care what Rael was after—but he would be watching. And if the chance came, he'd make sure to be in the way.
Without another word, he melted into the darkness, vanishing without a trace.