! {Select Your Character}

This should be the time I make my real character as Siola, but I don’t want to bid farewell to the one where I venture into that mysterious place.

! {--- Selected}

‘Haven’t named it yet, huh.’

I’ll be sure to set it up firmly once I’m in. Come to think of it, I already have been given a name there. What was it again?

“You’re finally awake.”

My eyes opened wide and I saw an unfamiliar ceiling. My head, my mind have also cleared up, it restored the hazy memories that I’ve lost.

I came into this place because Avarice brought me by force after making me consumed that disgusting worm.

“Hm, this bed is…”

It’s so child-like.

“Do you still remember who you are?”

That disturbing voice, it’s from the balcony.

“Yes, your majesty. It’s been on my mind, but I did not catch your name or the reason why you were bothered by the name given to me.”

He turned around, revealing his skeleton body as a blue lightning strike behind him.

*CRASH*

‘I’ve already known his name of course. I was the one who killed him, but this isn’t the time to be playing the who-know-it-all person.’

“You seem to have rejuvenated I see.”

“…”

“Ludwig.”

“…” getting off the bed, I kneel before him, “King Ludwig, I may be no longer contracted to your faction, but I hope that you will let me serve you from now on.”

His steps, I heard them coming closer.

“And why would you want to give away your freedom?”

“Knowledge.”

All professional players obtained their title through a sheer force of research and analysis of every single part of the game, I need to be a step ahead of them if I want to succeed both in life and in this world.

“Are you willing to give up your soul back to the faction you were betrayed from… just for Knowledge?”

“No,” his dot-like eyes flamed in silver as I answered with that, but then I asked, “You seem to be compassionate when it comes to children, assuming you’re letting miss Replica be after this mess.”

“I only punish those who have wound us, not our own.”

“Oh, is that the case?”

“Mostly. Second, only to Avarice, that child has the most potential when it comes to restoring this realm for the better.”

“Potential…”

*Clenched*

“Say, if you have a child that has a significantly higher potential than her. What would you do with the said child?”

“…”

His eyes smoking red.

“As a king, it is a must for me to see that child’s potential to the end.”

“…” what a…, “Right, I should’ve ex—”

“But as a father, her safety comes first.”

“…”

Chuckles, “Safety? Not happiness?”

“Such a thing will come by itself as long as she is safe.”

‘!!!’

‘She?’

Doesn’t seem to be talking about me, but if he’s not lying, then, “These hands will serve you, but only you, my King.”

*Crash *Crash

“Then, I shall accept your hands as an extension of mine… Luosa.”

! {You have been offered the name “Luosa” by the Ruler of the Prison Realm “Ludwig, Warrior of the Abyss”}

~ {Would you accept?}

I lowered my head slowly as his presence filled the entire room. With the back of his hand closing in on me, I held it gently. In this coldness, I gave his skeleton hand my vow and sealed the fate of this character of mine.

! {The name “Luosa” has been accepted}

~ {This change is permanent}

He brought me back to the throne room where he is giving a speech to all the members of the castle about my arrival and future involvement.

Avarice, the Alpha and Omega.

Malice, Whisperer of the Ancient King.

Ludtleth, Ancient King of Death Overlord.

Replica, (Former) Mage of the Abyss.

And there are even others as well whom I have not yet known until now. With the appearance of a pitch-black slime, Goolag, Mother of Death Slime.

Headless black knight in a torn robe, Hedrick, Paladin of the Ancient King.

Formless gush of black liquid who constantly appeared and reappearing in this room, Mordor, Watcher of the Abyss.

Despite everything is treated like a kingdom, they— we have a very small number sitting on top and there is not even a single real soldier under our command. No chain below or above except all of us are devoting our all to the only “King” in this world, Ludwig.

They welcomed me warmly, even miss Replica herself who has betrayed me. I’m still unsure of whether she is actually welcoming me right now or is still planning to get rid of me for real. Only time will tell.

But regardless, it seems that my new journey in this game has now started.

***

Entering the vertically and horizontally spacious library, I was greeted with my first “Game-like” notification in a long time.

! {Grand Archive of Purgatory}

“Hedrick, Goolag, and Ludtleth, they will be your superior for the time being. Ask any of them if you require access to the specific knowledge that you are looking for.”

“I understand.”

He tapped my shoulder with his skeleton hand, “Immortality can only get you so far. Do be careful out there, Luosa.”

“…” nodding, “I surely will embed your words in my head, your Majesty.”

“…”

He left.

That final look he gave me, I wonder what it meant. It feels heavy.

As soon as I turned around, my vision was blocked by a chunk of armor standing up.

No wait, it’s the um, “Lord… Hedrick, is there anything I can help you with? Or are you here to tour me around the library?”

“…”

Of course, he can’t say anything without a mouth. Come to think of it, he’s a paladin, so he’s from a noble and righteous birth. For him to be here in this sort of evil-looking group got to have something to do with his title, which is similar to Malice.

‘Wait, Ludtleth has the title of Ancient King, so how come…”

Lord Hedrick pulled up leather with some kind of words that I don’t understand, written in an ancient language of Ekolia from… I don’t know, many years ago, I guess.

‘Let’s see… There is a drawing for a body, or is it a... head? I'm sure it's a head. There’s also another drawing and a few wording about a red house(?) And this one is a symbol of Hellblade with something of a question mark beside the symbol of I don’t know what this is…’

“Ah!”

! {New Quest has been offered}

~ {Unending Pair / Rank S / Objective: Retrieve Hedrick’s head from the Hellblade Realm / Reward: Access (1) Inaccessible Book from the Grand Archive of Purgatory}

“I mean, sure, I’ll help you, but I have no way to access the Hellblade Realm. Plus, aren’t they and us in a bad term right now? Considering the Purgatory is a rank lower than them meaning there’s a competition, right?”

He scratches the leather and only left out the red house. Doing several gestures, telling me that it’s okay or something, maybe? Still, since he knows about the house, why didn’t he go there himself though?

Don’t really feel like asking him about that, “Alright, I’ll see what I can do.”

! {Quest: Unending Pair – has been accepted}

! {New Quest has been obtained}

~ {Transcendental Realm / Rank S / Objective: Find a way to access the hidden world(s) within Ekolia / Reward: Pioneer Title / Additional Reward: Unlimited Access to the Official VIP Store}

! {Realism Mode detected}

~ {Adjusting the recently obtained Quest}

~ {Transcendental Realm / Rank S / Objective: Find a way to access the hidden world(s) within Ekolia / Reward: Immortality Rank UP}

That’s new, ‘A Quest altered mid-game. I wonder if this mode is an experimental feature instead of an actual one. I recall that there’s also that bug that prevented me from logging out. I gotta report that at least.’

My immortality is currently rank 3 and I can defy death momentarily while resisting any wound or pain, rendering Realism Mode’s effect useless, and additionally, I am also able to revive after an hour as well.

I wonder what’s the next rank is going to be.

Lord Hedrick offered me his hand as we browse through the endless shelves. Unfortunately, many of the books are not accessible. Not because I’m an outsider, but because I have made no contribution to Purgatory at all.

Making me unable to earn points for their standing.

Since I have also quit being a member of that faction, I can only rely on the quests given by my “supervisor” that king Ludwig has assigned for me.

Thanks to my Immortality, I don’t really need to sleep nor do I feel sleepy at all thanks to the new capsule I got from my sister outside.

‘Right, I don’t need to push myself too hard this time.’

I only ever step foot outside of the capsule to eat dinner in my own room with the meals that Sadrin and the maids have prepared. Letting the capsule being charge until it's full, which only takes about a few hours.

I was only intended to have the knowledge of anything that can help me have an easier time grinding once I make a new character. But after spending a whole week going through a book by book of the endless collection of this library, my eyes have finally opened to the conflict that is happening in this world. My understanding has improved quite a bit.

Maybe it’s the same for everyone, but in this world – just like a coin – there are only two sides to comprehend.

It’s Human and Monster.

But the ally and the enemy however are much more complex than that, depending on who and where people are. Especially when the Gods and the Goddesses who are being worshiped by the majority of the human out there, are all categorized as Monsters.

I only care about the top though.

Ruler of the Divine Order, Armalia. She is the highest in terms of rankings in the Influence category, having the most people worshiped her.

Ruler of Hellblade, Dolemn. The second-highest rank, he is to be believed as a reincarnate of the rumored End Kings themselves.

Ruler of Purgatory, Lehdrith. Coming in third, he does not seem to be special, but both Humans and Monsters worshiped him to be their one and only god.

At least according to one of the books that he himself wrote.

There are 34 Gods and Goddesses left, and none of them seems to be noteworthy except for two entities that I’m personally interested in.

First is Soline Arlond who was once a human, a witch, who is believed to have ascended to godhood forcefully by sacrificing countless lives, and is not titled as a ruler due to the fact that she is not ruling over any realm at all, but she is ranked 9th.

Another one is Mary, the Goddess of Adventurer.

Her description is quite vague, and it is unsure whether she is ruling any realm or not but her achievement in creating the Adventurer Guild upon the human world is recognized by everyone and thus, she too is being worshiped faithfully and ranked 4th in the category.

“Hm, all of these books don’t seem to have anything related to the history of Ekolia itself though. I wonder where I can find those.”

“If you are looking for those…” a familiar voice creeping up behind me, “Then you will have to prove your worth to me.”

“Lord Ludtleth.”

“Here.”

! {New Quest has been offered}

~ {Ludtleth Kill List / Rank SSS / Objective: Deliver judgment to every single creature listed in the book / Reward: Varied}

A red book with a familiar symbol at the center of it, Judgment.

! {Quest: Ludtleth Kill List – has been accepted}

“You will not believe how long this world has lasted, especially, in the kind of environment it was in.”

He left with his hands on the back. It’s easy to mistake him for an ordinary old man. I know because I’ve seen one.

I wonder how he’s doing right now, that uncle of mine, Martin. Him and his daughter, Kashiri, were the ones who helped me and my friends with almost everything that has something to do with our lives in the real world.

“Heh.”

‘Man, I have to make sure to give a proper apology the next time I meet her.’

***

===== Profile Status =====

Statistics

Name: Luosa / Level: 20 / Class: Mage

Primary Attributes

Max Health: 1000 | Max Mana: 9600 | Max Stamina: 2000

Health: 1000 | Mana: 9600 | Stamina: 2000

Secondary Attributes

Strength: 20 / Dexterity: 10 / Endurance: 20

Vitality: 0 / Agility: 20

Intelligence: 150 / Faith: 150 / Luck: 50

Combat

Physical Attack: 20 (+10) | 7 (+5) / Physical Defense: 0 (+10)

Magical Attack: 15 (+150) / Magical Defense: 0 (+10)

Health Regeneration: 1 / Mana Regeneration: 31 / Stamina Regeneration: 1

Gear

{Ul’ Sejidah / Rank S-Unique / Physical Defense: 0 / Magical Defense: 0 / Innate Ability: Can be used as a Catalyst for Dark Miracles / Additional Innate Ability: Bypass all requirement of all Dark Miracles up to Supreme Tier level}

Active Effect

- (Experience gain has been reduced by 80%) ~ Blessing of the Abyss

===== Profile Status =====