"GRRRRRRRRAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!!! I can't take it anymore!" I scream as I toss my books up in the air and bang my head onto my desk. "This is so unfair! Hayate is back in [Isekai] adventuring with his friends while I'm stuck here studying for my exams! And I hate Math!"

I look up and turn to see my older brother lying down on his bed with the [VeilCon] goggles on his head, a sign that his mind is currently in the game itself. I wish I could join him, but unfortunately for me, I'm grounded from playing [Isekai Online] until my mid-term exams are over. I mean, I could try sneaking into the game, but Dad might have told him to put several restrictions onto my account so I can't access it even if he's playing the game by himself. So yeah, I'm basically trapped in real life until then...

But after staring at the numbers and paragraphs the whole night, I can't help but scratch my hair out of frustration that I might not be able to remember all of this before tomorrow! To be honest, I’ve never had a problem with reading before, especially when I read some of the books in [Isekai]. It's as if I have an allergy to Math or something...

Ugh...

Now that I think about it, I am a bit curious about the game's world and lore. I know discovering them in the game is better than going on social media, but does learning more about the basic lore from the real world count? Besides, everyone there including the players themselves has common knowledge about them including the races and the cities were in so far. I start to give up at that thought and continue reading through my Math textbook, but then, I notice our desk computer sitting there unused for some time now. And then, my mouth slowly curls into a smile.

Hmmm...

Hayate and Mom did say I'm not allowed to log into the game, but they never said I'm not allowed to use the computer. Besides, I’ve been here studying for an hour now and I do need a break. Without making a sound, I slowly tiptoe my way to the computer and turn it on as I sit at the desk. I know Hayate can't hear me because of the ADVR's effects, but I can't let Mom hear me from downstairs. So I wore headphones just in case before I turn my eyes onto the computer screen and opened the internet browser.

"Okay, where should I start researching on first?" I mutter as I head to the game's official wiki where the gameplay and lore of [Isekai] are recorded there by fans and developers alike. Races should be a good start, but I am a bit curious about the story of the world first.

[PROLOGUE STORY]

[Before the world was born, there was [Aether], an energy that gave birth an idea. As time passed, the idea became life and life became an element. And as it became a being, they became conscious of an image that they made a reality in a form of a blue planet. Filled with emotions and dreams of their idealized world, they continued building the world with lands, trees, and flora growing around the planet. However, they made so much that they exhausted their powers. So the being sacrificed their individuality for help and converted most of the Aether around them into [Mana]. And thus, the 8 Gods were born.

created heat and fire.

manipulated the waves of the water and formed ice during the colder climates.

formed the mountains and hills.

blew the winds and formed the clouds in the sky.

gave life to all living beings.

created the light.

And ruled the darkness and created the stars.

The last god then controlled the remaining Mana to plant several seeds in different continents. These not only spread the life energy that Vita granted around the world, but acted as beacons that replenished, absorbed, and stored Mana to avoid overflow. This act created the Mana Landmarks as the god named the world after himself, .]

Whoa... I expected a story similar to one of my novels, but I never expected a good story that preceded the game itself. At this point, my curiosity gets the better of me as I continue reading the origin story.

[As life went on in , the gods decided to create a new kind of life in that world. So they made a being similar to themselves, but each of them possessed the different kinds of runic markings of their creators. They were known as the [Messengers of the God]. They traveled around the world to deliver messages to other gods and possessed strange magical abilities and spells. To some, they were nothing more than couriers to the gods. However, several such as Sanctus and Nox noticed their growing independence and their mastery of creating their language. Volo also noticed this as he became curious about the growing population of intelligent life in their created world.

The other gods, on the other hand, became concerned about this, and with Volo's permission, they decided to create their own intelligent life based on their idealized goals of the world.

Believing knowledge was the main key to the world's growth, Vita created the [Elf] race.

Believing in power, Impes, Zephyrus, and Terrus worked together to create the wild [Beastfolk] race.

Believing in the freedom to think by themselves, Zephyrus himself created the [Feles] race.

And lastly, Volo himself decided to create his own race. A race who possessed a limited source of [Mana], yet they were master of all. He would later dub them the [Human] race.

As the new races began to develop civilizations with these gifts, Volo became concerned at their brethren's creation. On one hand, their abilities granted to them will bring new developments to the ever-growing history of their created world. However, he realized this may also bring disaster and despair if they became hostile to each other.

Eventually, his fears came to fruition when the races began to fight each other in an attempt to trample their enemies and weed out the weak fueled by the gods' bickering over their creations' abilities. Their creations’ war extended to the gods themselves as they attempted to summon proxy warriors from another world to fight in their unnecessary war. This was later known as the .]

A war?! Wait, did that happen years before the game launched?! More importantly, I didn't expect the gods to bring in people from other worlds to fight! I know this is not really in a sense, but still...!

I quickly take a deep breath before I continue reading the rest of the story.

[As the war raged, the flora, fauna, and the lands they meticulously created began to rot. The destruction even reached the [Mana Landmarks] as the mana began to deplete from the warriors that the gods and the races made. Eventually, some of the messengers couldn't take the unnecessary violence anymore and pray to the only gods who hadn't participated in it. As their prayers reached them, they saw the effects that the war has created.

Sanctus was horrified that their hard work had been destroyed from their petty war, Nox roared in rage at their stupidity, and Volo became disappointed at their deteriorating relationship. At this point, enough was enough and as the war was nearing its climax, they appear to the races and the warriors.

"Power corrupts the weak and power will bring downfall," they declared. "And you have made an unforgivable sin of destroying what we had worked for!"

Betrayed, Sanctus sent the chosen messengers to bring divine retribution onto the soldiers and summoned warriors who committed sins of hatred, pride, and wrath.

Enraged, Nox created the monsters who did nothing but to kill the royalty and nobles who took advantage of the war.

Disillusioned, Volo sealed the gods' abilities to summon, grant gifts, and create a gateway from other worlds, trapping the summoned to condemn them for participating in the war.

As a final punishment, the three gods condemned the others to nothingness so they could reflect on their selfish actions. As for the living beings, they let Nox kept the monsters she created as a reminder of what they unleashed to stop the senseless war.

As a result, the world has entered the where the inhabitants have grown regretful and tried everything to atone for their sins. Some of them even tried to do everything to survive in a prayer-less world.]

Man... I’ve always wondered why those monsters appear in the first place, but I’ve never expected that they were created just to punish everyone who started the war. If Hayate is here, he would have stopped me from reading this. Then again, I have read this kind of story from some of my novels lately.

But I do notice that the world I’ve logged in often is in peace and everyone can use magic. So I keep reading to see how they managed to recover them...

[However, many years after the war, some of the messengers became remorseful over the world's current state as they watched the Beastfolk and Elves continuing to fight for resources while Humans and Feles lost hope and their will to live. Desperate to help them, the couriers prayed not only for the gods to respond to their pleas, but to know that their punishments were too much for them to burden. They continued to pray for 8 years until a young courier created a runic mark made from her own hands and offered it to the gods as an offering.

Sanctus and Nox were the first ones who noticed it and they were shocked at her creation. It wasn't because she made her own mark from their runes, but how she managed to create her very own language, one which she aimed to share with her people and hopefully, to the world. To everyone else, she became the first person to create a [Sign].

After light and dark, Volo saw it last.

He admired her dedication and originality and so, he and the other two listened to the pleas she laid from her people. Since much time had passed, they decided that they could help the beings once more. But they didn't want to give them everything at once, to avoid repeating the Summon War. So they asked, "What do you ask in return for my help, young courier?"

She then answered, "Let us become one like the beings living in this world."

None of the messengers objected to her offer. One stated that some wanted to live normally like the Humans while others wanted to share the knowledge they discovered. Regardless of their reasons, they shared one same sentiment and that was to forgive the world.

While reluctant at their request, Volo accepted their prayers and alongside the other gods who returned from the void, they declared to the world with these words.

"You have survived and worked together to repent the sins that your ancestors created with their senseless war. So we will give you everything you need to fight back. However, starting today, know that we will neither intervene nor aid you in your future bouts. I will give my brethren the power to create, but they will be limited to the spirits who govern life and death and the Mana around us. But fret not, our messengers will be there to aid you not only as your teachers but as your companions. From now on, they will be known as the [Insignis], the children of God and the teachers of magic.

But know this, people, if you dare to show hatred or create a senseless conflict against our children, I swear that your punishment will be this world's last."

Heeding their words and warning, the couriers became inhabitants of the world and they began teaching everyone the concept of magic. And slowly, the survival era came to an end as the inhabitants overpowered the monsters while the Insignis helped them recover. And as some of their power returned, the gods were now remorseful of their petty bout and vowed not to let anything like it consume them ever again. As an atonement, they created Guardians who would protect the Mana Landmarks and under Volo's commands, they created spirits and familiars who will aid adventurers and warriors on their journey to travel and protect.

Eventually, the kingdoms and countries bloomed and the status quo had changed as the Retribution Era ended and the has begun.

However, evil and corruption still exist in this world as wars and crimes consumed some of the parts of the world on a minor scale compared to the Summoned War. While the gods were satisfied once more with their hard work, they remained concerned about the disasters the races will face especially with the gods weakened as part of the punishment of their involvement in the Summoned War. Regardless, a new era has since bloomed as new adventurers have stepped in to make new chapters in the world of Volo...]

Amazing... I’ve never expected a prologue to touch my heart like this since I first read the Seraph series. Still, it is a prologue story. So this makes me more determined to discover more what has to offer!

"Hahaha! Once I finish my exams, I can learn more about the world's history and meet some new people who are living there! Just you wait!" That's right, I still have a lot to see in the game and I'm not going to stop playing until Hayate and I make our mark in !

"Huh, you really are pumped up for the game, Kazuki."

"Yeah, I..."

But as soon as I turn around, I scream when I see Hayate awake and standing behind me.

"H-H-Hayate?! H-How long have you been standing there?" I sheepishly ask.

"Long enough after I logged off and see you ignoring your studies to surf the internet without my permission." I can feel my confidence drain out once I hear this. "At least you made the right choice to use some headphones."

"Hehehehe... T-Thanks?" That's all I can say before I sigh in dismay. "So back to studying?"

As expected, Hayate nods yes and says, "Unless you want to extend your grounding, you better pick up the pace."

I groan in frustration before leaving the computer desk and going back to my textbooks. As much as I want to explore more of the wiki beyond the prologue story, I don't want to get Hayate or Mom angry. So I study away while still thinking of that story in my mind, hoping I can get back to it someday.