Fifteen Minutes Earlier

Nathan wandered down the staircase, the long winding stairs seemed to be doused in a soft and slightly gooey substance. It was like slugs used this trail every day. It required his strength and careful steps to make his way down, each level more dangerous than the last.

"This is stupid... I'm glad I'm alone, or I may have fallen on my ass already."

He had an image to uphold now. Kai was one of the few who he knew trusted him to a point, but it was strange, as he never understood why. This woman had absolute trust and faith in her gaze, which haunted him.

"How can someone like that have so much faith in me? I don’t get it…”

Things had never appeared so different since he had come here. The world had advanced onwards in time and left everything he designed behind. He used this alone time to reflect on the situation.

"Is anything I made still here? The seven divine cities, for example, do they still stand?"

He had many issues that he needed to resolve. Who had sent him here, and how did this video game become an actual world? He had no way to leave, either.

"I need to concentrate on finding a way to escape this nightmare. This isn’t what I created..."

His words died in his throat as he stopped in his tracks, his head hanging low as he realized he was wrong. This was the world he created. He had designed every inch, including all of the races.

"They may not be those that I've created, but they are all my children, descendants of many years."

He held his head high once more as he looked back at his objective. He needed to stop worrying about the future, but rather push one foot ahead of the other and continue his march towards the endless grasp of time.

Nathan eventually landed on the last step, his footing slipping as he came crashing down onto the slippery floor, spinning in a circle twice before stopping. He let out a loud growl of pain, a few moments passing before he finally laughed out.

"Oh fuck! I'm glad that I managed to avoid landing on my ass with so many women around. That would’ve been embarrassing!"

His laugh was echoing through the hallway as he shook his head, pulling himself back up from the slimy and rather gross floor, sliding a few more times as he had to get his balance.

It took him several minutes before he managed to get into the next room, a wide space opened up before him, as he was below the large water reservoir room. His eyes looking up at the glass bottom, staring as he was wondered about something.

"Why would they keep a glass on the bottom?" He stopped as he noticed something moving in the depths. His jaw hit the floor as he stared at the movement.

"The entire bottom of the glass is not dirty! All of those are fish!"

He stopped for a moment as he moved up and tapped on the glass, none of the shapes in the bottom even flinching. Though, as soon as he got closer, he noticed them becoming more active.

"It can’t be. They..."

In the distance, his ears picked up a faint but distinct roar, a screech following shortly afterwards. This was bad.

"They must have activated something. Fucking hell, just my luck!"

He turned and began to charge back up the stairs, struggling up the slimy floor as he started to gasp and groan.

"Fuck this designer... Wait, did I make this?"

He looked around before seeing his signature overlapping of the stonework with a small cut on the corners.

"Fuck me, fuck me so much right now!"

He had designed this? He couldn’t remember the place at all!

Once he arrived back at the top, his eyes turned to the left, noticing the two sergeants in the doorway. One was bleeding and crying while the other was doing all she could to stop the bleeding in time.

"What are you doing? They are fighting inside!" the busy sergeant said as she watched Nathan walk past, unable to stop him as she had her hands tied with work.

Her jaw fell to the floor as she watched the man who was supposed to be a weak peasant start to glow a bright blue.

Water flowed around him like waves as it started to obey his commands. Nathan moved forward, locking onto the massive water elemental as he raised both his hands. He had only just acquired the aqua skill, which he knew could cause some issues with control, but he did not need full power to destroy the crystal in the centre of the elemental.

His powers were surging through the water as the substance started to obey his command, shaking with energy as it eventually entered into the large water elemental.

He watched as Kaye started her desperate charge, rolling his eyes as he knew it was not needed now that he had restrained the beast. Her blade perfectly hit the crystal, causing a crack on the side.

Nathan was surprised at her accuracy, as he used the opportunity to apply pressure on the crystal, the crack spreading rapidly as the elemental stared at him with hatred. It understood its loss was due to this man who was holding him in place. The water no longer obeying it.

The orb was smashing into thousands of small particles, and the water was released, splashing onto everyone nearby as Nathan let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, Nathan, came to see my victory over that massive water elemental?" Kaye boasted pridefully, despite being shaken by the fight.

Nathan swallowed his urge to push her down a peg, forcing a smile.

"Well done, Kaye, you did well."

Nathan moved past her and over to Kai, quickly checking her out, making sure she was fine. Kaye walked past as she went to look after her sergeants, but something in the back of her mind twitched as she thought about something.

"Wait, I never told him my name. Neither did the commander... How does he know?"