[You have encountered a special zone. Logging out in this zone is forbidden and dying will result in your account being permanently banned from Island Ascension Online]

The sound of the system notification’s emotionless voice greeted Simon’s ears, and by the time it finished, he could hardly believe what he was hearing.

‘A special zone? I can’t log out and if I die it's all over?!’

He shivered at the implications of this notification. Since it was the system which said so, the truth of these words were practically guaranteed.

‘F*ck!’ Simon cursed inwardly with a foul expression.

If he were to die here… everything would be over. Even if he would be fine in reality, his dream of recreating his old world would essentially become impossible. Thus, how could he not feel trepidation?

At the same time, he realized that a similar situation must have befallen Jake. After all, he seemed to recall hearing the voice say that “he was not bad either”, and just a moment later, he was brought to this place. Moreover, the same display of light which had occurred at the same time as Jake’s disappearance had occurred when he was swallowed. What else could that mean but that he was the second person to be transported?

Simon let out a sigh as he stared at the bridge that was rapidly forming. After glancing around the platform to make sure that he had not missed anything, he solemnly made his way forward.

Now that he was forced into this situation, there was no point despairing. In any case, something which could instantly teleport him and utilize such a horrifying amount of energy was bound to be supremely powerful; if it wished to kill him, he would surely be dead by now.

Thus, he may as well just follow the bridge, as it seemed like that was what he was supposed to do.

However, he couldn’t help but to feel a strange sense of excitement as he walked upon the thin path which separated him from the boundless void below.

After all, from what he knew, danger and opportunity came in pairs in Island Ascension Online. Within every hopeless situation, there were always opportunities which would arise, and in times of prosperity and fortune, there was always danger lurking below.

If he was transported to such a dangerous location in a ruin… Surely, the odds of benefiting from such a place if he survived were high.

However, his life was ultimately the most important. If there ever came a time where he could escape, he would. After all, he was confident in his chances without the help of whatever he could gain here.

Meanwhile, as Simon walked upon the bridge, he noticed that the void around him grew increasingly overbearing as he strode forwards. The inky blackness around him seemed to constrict his movements, and the void was beginning to feel somewhat suffocating in this world of solitude. However, Simon was able to shrug it off without much effort.

‘Hmph. If this void wishes to subdue me, it shouldn’t hope to do so easily.’ he thought with a slight frown.

Meanwhile, the feeling of solitude only increased as he walked on.

...

After what seemed like an eternity…

‘Finally!’ Simon thought exasperatedly, relieved at the same time.

Now, he could see a speck in the distance. Even in this dark void, his vision was quite sharp, so it was impossible not to see a large platform in front of him.

Within this world, Simon’s sense of time was skewed. It could have been hours, or it could have been days since he entered. However, he truly had no clue.

By now, the effect of the void surrounding him was also beginning to wear him down. And though he showed no signs of succumbing, Simon was slowly beginning to feel as if there was a weight on his mind and body at all times. Thus, he was slightly more sluggish than when he had first entered.

Soon enough, the bridge eventually connected up to the platform, and Simon promptly stepped off the bridge and onto the silvery, dark metal floating within the void.

Crumble…

Simon suddenly looked back to the source of the noise and saw that the bridge which he once stood upon was crumbling apart, descending into the void below. Seeing this, he could only shake his head. ‘Sure enough, there’s no going back.’

Simon then turned to the platform that he was standing on. This platform was practically identical to the previous one, with intricate patterns carved into the metallic floor. It was circular, and its circumference was 500 meters.

He took a step forward to investigate the island.

But suddenly, at the edge of the platform opposite to him, tendrils of the void gathered to a singular point, gradually forming a shadowy mass.

‘That’s something I have to fight?’ Simon solemnly gazed at the shadowy figure being created in front of him, readying himself to cast a variety of spells. Thankfully, his wand had been transported with him, so he quickly took it out.

Suddenly, the floor underneath his feet began moving, causing him to jump in shock. The once intricate pattern of the platform quite literally split apart at the seams, and each individual piece began moving about in a methodical, mesmerizing manner. At the same time, falling through the platform meant falling into the endless void below.

‘F*ck! The damn floor is moving!’ Simon cursed inwardly.

He was caught unawares for a moment but quickly adjusted to the movements of the platform, as it did so in a set pattern.

At this exact moment, the shadowy figure had finally been fully formed. It looked somewhat humanoid, with dimensions similar to his own.

Seeing this, Simon’s gaze sharpened; he had no time to waste.

He dashed around on the segments of metal, quickly waving his wand through a series of movements, inducing the mana within his body to flow outwards. Within moments, a bolt of red thunder reminiscent of a blood drop shot outwards from the tip of his wand!

This was a tier 2 spell, Lightning Blood Drop!

Woosh!

It launched towards the creature of void in a flash, at speeds indiscernible to the naked eye.

Szzzz…

But when it landed on the shadowy figure, it dissipated harmlessly on its ‘chest’. The shadowy figure then eerily turned to look at Simon, before abruptly dashing towards him.

Simon’s brow suddenly furrowed as he began casting the next spell. After all, on top of the ineffectiveness of his spell, the shadowy figure moved in a bizarre manner, despite not moving all that fast - at times completely blending in with the void around it. Thus, it was incredibly hard to track.

Even with his heightened senses, he could only faintly detect its presence every once in a while.

But even so, that was enough!

Woosh!

Suddenly, streams of blinding light emerged from Simon’s wand like a tidal wave, illuminating the moving platform resplendently, making it look like a series of streaking serpents shooting forth.

Tier 2 Spell, Stream of Resplendence!

The shadow did not even attempt dodging the streams of light and instead, burst through them.

Szzzz…

Once again, the light completely fizzled out of existence upon touching the shadowy figure.

‘Crap, what is this thing?! Neither thunder nor light works against it?’ Simon frowned. By now, the shadowy figure was only a few dozen meters away; he only had time to cast one more tier two spell.

He waved his staff once again, and suddenly, his palms started glowing. Meanwhile, the void creature rapidly approached.

20 meters, 10 meters, 5 meters...

Just before the shadow reached him, he dropped the staff and threw forth a slap!

Tier 2 spell, Flamin’ Hot Palms in conjunction with the skill, [Hard Slap] (I)(Lv 4)!

Boom!

The shadowy figure met his glowing palms with its claws, and surprisingly, it was knocked away, a portion of the figure melding back into the void. Now, it’s aura was slightly weaker than earlier.

Simon promptly caught the wand which he had just dropped, and used the impact of the collision to distance himself from the shadowy figure with a graceful flip.

‘Sure enough, it was one of those...’ Simon sighed in relief upon seeing that his palm attack had worked.

In his old world, there were creatures called “Magefiends” which had extremely high resistances to magic casted from far ranges. The most reliable way to counter such creatures as a mage would be to attack one head on with one’s body.

After all, they functioned by severing the mage’s connection with their spells upon contact with the mana, thus causing said spell to lose its power. As a result, lobbing spells towards these creatures were practically useless.

However, if one landed a blow on these creatures with their body whilst enhanced by mana, the creatures would naturally be unable to sever the mana from the attack, as the mana fueling the attack resided in the mage’s body! This was why melee attacks worked the best.

Simon then gazed at the illusory manifestation of the void who was dashing towards him with confidence in his eyes.

Now that he knew what it was, it should not hope to survive his wrath.