Shaking Both Worlds

The players waited in tense anticipation, their throats dry from fear and hearts pounding with courage. All of them were ready to face the coming calamity until, suddenly.

A voice echoed in every player's mind. 

Clear. Cold. Unmistakable.

{Congratulations to Player V322**** for clearing the Grimroot Dungeon.}

{Congratulations to Player V322**** for being the seventh player to solo-clear a Special Grade Dungeon.}

{Congratulations to Player V322**** for earning The Legendary title of Lone Calamity.}

{Congratulations to Player V322**** for earning The Epic title of Venomous Harbinger.}

Silence fell like a hammer.

A few players fell back on their butts, stunned. Others looked around in disbelief, scanning the system window before them as if trying to confirm it was not an illusion.

"No way…"

"Did it say solo?"

"You mean… that guy? That guy, right?"

"The one that messed with the Sky Lions? You got to be kidding me."

Mouths hung open in pure shock because nearly everyone knew Vlad. After his incident with Xander, he had become somewhat of a celebrity.

The whispers quickly turned into shouts.

"HE CLEARED IT? ALONE?"

"He must have a very high-ranking trait." "Do you think he could be one of the new kings,"

"If you change his hair color, he does resemble Alex, the king with the time-related trait," The players began to speculate, but silence once more took hold as another announcement rang.

A second system announcement rang, and this time, it was as if the world itself spoke, coming from everywhere and reaching every place.

The voice was accompanied by a flash of burning gold that spread across the clouds, telling even the NPCs that something world-changing had taken place.

{World Announcement: Player V322**** has successfully prevented the World Event: Rise of the Demonkin.}

{Player V322**** is the first to accomplish this near-impossible feat.}

{Player V322**** has become the eleventh player to earn the Title of the Rising Legend}

Every player and NPC, whether a weak no name or the world's strongest, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the sky. 

The very world took a breath.

Everyone understood the weight behind those words, and they were the truth since they came from the Outsider.

A player had achieved a nearly impossible feat, unknown whether he did it knowingly or through pure luck, but now that player, no V322****, was on the list of every powerful faction, both in the world of ascension and the real world.

The world leaders felt the biggest shock because they instantly received the intel that V322**** was not among the people under their control, nor was he on any watch list.

So, it could only mean he had an A grade or a lesser trait, and this conclusion only spread more panic since now finding him on their own would be near impossible.

The players who were just recovering from the first announcement felt a chill run down their spine since they were the only ones who knew the man responsible for this world-shaking feat. 

Some looked at each other in disbelief, while others silently cursed the lucky player, but few quickly took their discoveries to the game forum.

And far beyond the village, across continents and strongholds, in guild halls, faction bases, and royal courts, high-ranking NPCs and powerful players alike were acting with pure panic, aiming to woo the new rising star to their side.

"Find him." In the Moon-forged palace, the elven archduke narrowed his glowing eyes as his voice boomed. "I don't care what it takes, find that immortal adventurer and make him an ally of the Elves,"

In the Obsidian Spire, Miguel, one of the leaders of the Adventurers Guild, spoke, "Find everything about this player," slowly moving his wine glass as a smile spread across his face.

In the throne room of the Dukedom of Eldrith, Dutches Virelya stood from her crimson seat. "He has just entered our world? Are you certain the intel is true?" She spoke, and the cloaked figure nodded in confirmation.

"None of the past legends, our or theirs, have achieved such a feat in such a short time, and he not only did that, but the dungeon was more than just a random special dungeon," She stated, a crazed look in her eyes.

"Tell the world we will match any price."

"If this other worldrer turns to the wrong side… he could very well become the bane of this world." She spoke, her voice dangerously low.

Meanwhile, guild chat channels exploded:

[Crownless Sovereigns]: "Make the Announcement. NOW. I don't care if we have to offer him an entire domain or world to get him on our side."

[Star Born]: "He is a human, but that does not change the fact that he could become one of the kings."

[Spear of Sylren]: "He did not even change his name, so either he does not have the financial support, or he could care less about spreading his name."

[Undying Flames]: "Doesn't matter. If he is a Human, he is worth more than a hundred so-called kings."

[Void Kin]

[Echoes of Eternity]

.

.

.

...

Every big guild was on the move, making wild offers without caring what the general public would think. Vlad instantly became the most discussed topic among the players and the general public.

Unaware of everything, Vlad was sitting in a restaurant and properly celebrating becoming a chosen person with his family.

Vlad and his family enjoyed their time, spending money like never before and eating real food that was not lab-grown before going to Earth Relicium, The Living Museum of Old Earth.

The twelve hours passed before they knew it, and tired yet happy, the family returned home, unaware that the absence of Vlad had only fueled the fire.

What began as extravagant offers had spiraled into the realm of the absurd. 

Entire star systems were being offered to him; Humans, Starborn, Giants, and Beast-kin were openly fighting to outbid each other.

The entire digital and real world was in a state of unrest, desperate to uncover the identity of the unknown player and, more importantly, to learn his true nature.

----------

A massive crowd of players and NPCs stood outside the Grimroot village spawn point, the barrier preventing them from entering it.

They were not the new players and villagers but the old players who had come from all over the empire, representing various guilds and powerful Npcs of big and small factions.

They could reach the beginner village since it wasn't in a restricted zone, and thanks to the players who had witnessed Vlad's feat firsthand, word of his location spread across the official game forums in under an hour.

Everyone had their eyes fixed on a single individual who stood in the distance, his eyes emotionless, almost lost.

'I knew my actions could change the future, but this.... this is truly unexpected,' Vlad thought, still reeling from the shock.

Vlad knew how the world of Ascension would end. The beautiful world that everyone thought would last for decades, if not centuries, just like their real reality, would be plunged into war.

The rise of Green Skin was the start of the world events that would slowly consume the entire continent in unrest and chaos, a war with dark powers that would end the world in a mere eight years.

Vlad believed that Lucid would make the event happen in some other way, but he was not expecting it to be erased entirely.

'I better be careful in the future,' Vlad thought, smiling as he looked at the system windows floating in front of him, 'But the rewards are too tempting to ignore.'

{Congratulations, Player V322****, you have earned 1 Million Game Points for clearing the special dungeon Grimroot.}

{Earrings of Quiet Death (Quest Reward)}

{Title Earned: Venomous Harbinger (Epic)}

{400K Game Points for earning the Epic title of Venomous Harbinger}

{Title Earned: Lone Calamity (Legendary)}

{4.5 Million Game Points for earning the legendary title of Lone Calamity}

.

.

{100 Million Game points for being the very first player to stop a world event, saving countless lives from a terrible fate}

{50 Million Game Points for stopping the Rise of the Demonkin World Event}

{20 Million Game points for earning the legendary title of the Rising Legend.}

'21.4 Million Reputation points, 174.9 Million Game points, three Titles, one Epic and two Legendary,'

'I don't think I will replicate his feat any time soon,' Vlad thought, his excitement barely contained as he began to read the title descriptions.