Leah

“When are we moving out” I ask the elf sitting beside me. ”soon, the plans are almost complete” he replies.”I can’t wait to finish this game and claim the cash prize” another male elf says as he sharpens his sword on a whetstone.

“Max you have a long time before we can even start thinking about the money, remember we have four gods to kill and who knows the stats that they will have” I sigh “or what do you think Jack”.

“we might lose have of the members of the guild before we even take down one of the gods not to mention taking down all of them and even killing other players that gain the stats of gods” jack comments.

“Whatever we are getting that cash even if it takes three years to do it” Max says as he sheathes his sword. ”let’s go before I get frost bite” Max announces as we continue our journey into the frozen north of the elven continent.

“Why are we even here” Max asks as he pulls his cloak tighter on his body. “Didn’t you listen to anything the leader said before we left”? “There is a myth that one of the fallen gods had a temple in the north though we are just here to scout out the place” jack answers.

“I can’t believe I am on the same team with this idiot” I complain. “At least you are not living with him in the real world too, sometimes I pity Martha for dating a dumb guy like my brother” Jack says as we walk a little ahead of our teammate.

“Duck” Max yells from behind as the air makes a whistle sound. Dropping to the ground I see a frozen axe pass where my neck was some moments ago .spring to my feet I turn to the direction from whence the axe came from to see three snowmen charging at us. ‘wow a second late and I would be down another live in this game’ I think to myself as I feel sweat rolling off my face even in the cold.

Unlike the snow men we made back in the real world for Christmas that was fat, these one were muscular though their whole body is made of ice from the speed of the axe that passed these guys are no joke.

“Jack take the center, Max the left I will deal with the one on the right” I yell as the snow men get closer to us. “Flames of the south burn them” I chant as I gather mana and release a large fire ball at my opponent. Seeing the incoming fireball the snow man counters with the equal of a ball made of ice and the two spells collide creating a small amount of mist that covers the area.

Acting on instinct I move away from the mist only to see a spike made of ice erupts from the ground where I was standing before. ‘that was too close’ ,”northern wind clear the path for me” I chant as I use a wind spell to dispel the mist to reveal Max being pressed by the dual wielding snow man and Jack missing an arm as he tried frantically to deflect the blows of the axe wielding snow man.

Roar! The sound of one of the snow men screaming shocks me back into battle in time to block a strike form above with my sword. “Any help would be appreciated” Jack yells as I parry the thrust of the snow man and stab where a human would have his heart. Bending his head as if to ask ‘is that it’ the snow man gets hold of my sword as he swings his in a diagonal slash forcing me to leave my sword in his body.

“These guys are not dying” I yell as I watch the snow man remove the sword letting it drop to the ground. “So you just found out” Max yells out. “Why do you think we are about to be slaughtered” Jack yells as I move backwards trying to find any openings.

“These guys are made of ice so shouldn’t a fire spell take care of them quickly” Jack asks as the trio is gradually herding us together. ”yeah right this one is a swordsman and a mage so any spell gets counter” I answer as I cast another fire spell this time a spell that shapes the fire into that of a horse that charges at the snow man.

The spell hits a wall of ice that wasn’t there when I cast my spell making me more frustrated. “Let’s switch opponents” Max suggest as we are now back to back.”I can’t believe this but I agree with you” I say as we switch opponents and I fire off a large fire ball at the new opponent and watch as part of its arm is melted as a result of the spell.

“It’s working, just keep the mage busy” I yell as I blast the snow man away with a wind fire combo. Moving to the second snow man I give Jack time to recover his breath as I bombard the snow man with fire spells and in ten seconds it’s dead.

“Time for this snow man to die” I whisper as there is only monster left which is the mage. “Lightning orb” I whisper as I throw a ball of electricity at the snow man that paralysis it for a few seconds that Max uses to behead it.

“Guys that was intense” Max says as I pick Jack’s amputated arm. “You are lucky you know enough magic to cauterize the injury or else you would have bled to death” I say to Jack as I hand him his arm. “Well excuse me but some of us don’t understand the use of magic in this game world like the npcs” he retorts as he takes the hand.

“Not to be rude but we have to leave this place” Max says stopping the argument before it can go far. “What is it” I ask with a frown.”That’s the problem” he answers as he points into the horizon.

Looking at the direction he is pointing at I see a large amount of figures getting closer to our position. “Eagle eye” I say as I cast the spell for enhanced vision. “Wow that’s an army of snowmen and a rather large army if I say so myself” I mutter as I see thousands of snow men marching with some of them carrying a banner that has a white palm on it.

“We have to return to base and let the leader know what’s going on” I say to my teammates.” And what is going on” Max asks. “It is a monster invasion” I answer.

Michael

Three towns and I am totally convinced that Mina is a rude monster. At the other towns once they saw my golden scales the members of the town treat me with the same respect they give the chief. Though with my lightning speed what would have taken a normal player at least two to three days was done in a day.

‘The fact that some of the towns where close to each other and others where nothing but ashes helped’ Tusker says in my mind as I walk beside the chief of the last town as we make our way to the so called nesting site.

“So what can you tell me about this world, because as a child of the eldest goddess I don’t know much about this world” I ask the chief Igor. “first of all there is eldest goddess some races call her the mother or the eldest but all religion even the evil ones agree that she made the world though she didn’t populate it” Igor says.

“After the eldest are the gods and goddess of the different races”.

“Under these are the fallen those immortals that were banned from their brethren to stay on this world while their siblings reside in another realm”.

“so who is the god for dragons and lizard men” I ask. “That Orion the golden, he was a fallen that is why the other races could bring our numbers down almost into extinction” Igor says with a sigh. “So there will never be another god for our race” I ask smelling a clue to the end of this game.

“a normal person can become one of the fallen and then if he or she is strong enough to defeat one of the other gods then he will officially become a god though the only way to stop anyone from challenging you and killing your creations is to defeat all twenty gods and goddess” Igor finishes .

‘Tusker do you know how to become one of the fallen’ I ask the dragon in my mind.”Yes, it’s rather simple all you have to do is absorb one of the souls of a fallen even if the fallen is on the verge of dying’ he answers.

‘Then why hasn’t one of the past dragon kings not done that and raise the mantle of the dragon god once more’ I ask. ‘None of us has ever been born with the power to absorb a soul though it seems you have that power’ he comments in a dry voice.

“Then my mission in this world will be to raise myself and become the god of dragons” I say out loud by mistake. “That’s a good goal though you are going to need comrades. Other children of the eldest to go far in your task” Igor comments as he walks ahead of me.

Nathan

“I hate humans” I whisper as I carry a tray with a bottle of wine on it to my so called master. “that’s to be expected you are an elf after all” the human slave carrying the meal for the owner of the house we are in says as we make our way to the dining room where the ruler of the region is having lunch with his family.

“That’s not the reason, I hate elves too” I comment as I dodge one of the slaves hurrying around the corridor. “So is there anyone whom you don’t hate” the human Maki asks. As we reach the door of the dining room. “For now no” I reply as I open the door and step into the room.

“ah there he is” the earl Joe says as we enter the room.”Mage Roan the elf carrying the wine is the one I was talking of” the Earl says as I notice the man in robes sitting beside him. “Well he will do for the kind of things I want to test” the mage says in a voice that chills my spine.

“Little elf you are now a property of Mage roan over here as I have given you as a gift to him” the Earl says with a laugh. The same type of laugh he had when I had refused to play his game of cowering before him like all the other countless slaves he has.

“If he ever comes back I think he will prefer you to what I have in mind for him” the mage says in a cold voice. “Elf leave and wait for me at the stables, I assume you know where they are” he asks.

“Yes sir, but I am not sure you know where they are” I reply. “Don’t worry I know where they are” he says with a sinister smile.

Dropping the wine I leave the room with Maki in tow. “You shouldn’t have made the master angry enough to sell you to a mage” Maki says once we are far away from the doors. “don’t worry I will be fine” I say trying to convince myself as well as the human beside me.”I doubt it as all the others that went to him before never came back the same” Maki says as she points at one of the slaves we have taken to calling drone as he never speaks.

“He did that” I ask as I watch drone walk by. “yes and that’s one of the better ones, some can’t even function without an overseer with them others will work themselves to death if given the chance” Maki says as the reality of my situation brings a tear to my eyes that I quickly wipe with the sleeve of my shirt.

Michael

Because of the speed the message was delivered in the group I was with arrived three days before the meeting was to hold. With time on my hands, I wandered the nesting grounds that is in fact an abandoned fortress with the walls crumbling and the gate caved in.

Most of the houses were in ruins with scorch marks on the sides of the building and bones in some houses though the bones are that of non human shapes.

“What do you think they are” I ask Tusker referring to the bones. “Creatures long gone from this plane of existence” he replies.”Hmm can’t wait for the meeting to finish” I mumble as I walk past the bones.

After wandering around and killing the local monsters the time for the meeting had arrived. Sitting in a round table all the lizard chiefs five of them in total were at their chairs that looked to be made of polished wood as I stood behind Mina as the meeting commenced.

“So why have you called this meeting when the next meeting isn’t for another ten years” Tajar chief of the towns asks. “First of all I want you all to know that the humans have destroyed three of our sister towns” Mina says with a frown.

“I can’t speak for the others but I feel that they were weak for a force made of humans to overcome them” Rosai the chief I disliked the most commented with a sneer.

“Don’t say that even our ancestors the dragons could be killed by humans when they wielded magic and had numbers on their side” Igor says as Mina bangs her hand on the table in rage.

“I remember you town been pushed from your former home by goblins now compared to the fallen who is more pathetic” Alia another female chief roars as she unsheathes the sword at her hip. “Please stop acting like animals” I say bringing all the attention on me.

“Who is this lizard man that you brought to a meeting for chiefs only” Talon the last chief asks as he rubs his snout with a golden feather.

“He was sent here by the dragons from the home land and I brought him here to meet with the souls of the fallen” Mina answers. “how are we sure he isn’t a human that has used illusion magic to fool you or is his golden scales to attractive for the Terror to think straight” Rosai says with a smile at Mina that tells a tale.

“I don’t care if you believe or not I will do what I was told to and that was to make contact with their descendants of the dragons” I said to the group. “If you can’t help me I will report back to the dragons what has happened here” I say without a hint of emotion on my face.

“if he is lying the fallen will devour him we all know that so let’s get this on the road” Alia says as she produces a bowl made of a material that looks like silver but Tusker corrects me as it is made of mithril the ore of elves.

“You all know what is needed” she says as she slits her wrist with a talon and catches the flowing blood in the cup. Passing the cup around the other chiefs add their blood to the mixture with the cup ending up with Alia.

With the blood in the cup and her talon as a brush Alia begins to draw what looks like a pentagram with various symbols and characters on the inner and outer part of the two circles that circle the pentagram.”oh mighty creator a candidate for ascension has appeared judge him and if you see fit grant him the power to once more restore our race to its former glory as your enemies tremble in fear” she chanted.

The more she repeated the chant the more the pentagram seemed to glow until I was sure that it was glowing with a steadily increasing golden light. Soon the light just before it was bright enough to blind us as it deemed and a golden door replaced the pentagram on the floor. The door was made of gold with some parts of it covered in a dark red material that looked similar to blood with pictures of dragons covering both parts of the door

“enter and be judged” the chiefs say in a voice that is nothing like how they talked some minutes ago ‘they have been possessed by the creator to stop others from gaining information about the ritual from them’ tusker says in my mind.

Bracing myself I put my hand on the door to push only for it to open on its own to reveal a space that is void of light.

“Well here goes nothing” I say as I step through the door and the door closes behind me. Walking in the endless space I begin to feel tired as if something was draining me of my strength checking my mana city that represents my total mana I see it under attack by some giant worms that seem to be eating anything in sight. “Tusker how do I fight here” I ask in panic as one of the worms begins to head to the palace in the city.

“this is a representation of your mind and the worms are a foreign body trying to devour you, all you have to do is imagine soldiers protecting the city and they will appear though they will only be as strong as you are now” he replies as another worm joins the first on its foray to the palace while their comrades eat the buildings.

Remembering the look of the solders I have fought till now I focus on populating the city with foot soldiers and as soon as I complete the thought soldiers begin running out of the palace. Though there is a problem, “arm them with weapon” Tusker screams as the first worm begins crushing the soldiers around it with its weight.

Imagining the soldiers using swords and spears my troops begin to battle the worms in the city as more worms enter through the broken walls of the city. “You have to plug the holes in the wall” Tusker advises as I watch one of the soldiers stab his spear into the mouth of the worm.

Within minutes the worms are defeated and there are masons I created fixing the wall when a voice says “first phase complete, starting second phase in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…starting up”

As soon as the countdown ends I watch as a five large black gates open up in the void in front of my mana city. Once the gate materializes completely they open up to reveal dogs the size of horses with red eyes that glow and flames on the tips of their tails.

“Those are hellhounds” Tusker says as the hellhounds begin bombarding the partly fixed walls opening some parts. Directing most of the soldiers to the entry points I notice that the soldiers are constantly being created at the same rate my mana regenerates. “Try creating mages mixed with soldiers” tusker suggests as the hellhounds barrel through the soldiers with ease.

Following the advice people wearing robes with a golden dragon on their cloak running towards the hellhounds as fireballs and spikes of earth struck the hellhounds. The battle lasted for what seemed like hours with most of the edge city in ruins.”I don’t know how many of these I can take” I sigh as the strain of regenerating mana and commanding the soldiers begin to take its toll on me.

And so the phases continued with five minutes period of rest between each phase. Phase three were three headed dogs that were bigger than the hell hounds causing me to create cavalry. Phase four was difficult as the group had flying monsters that looked like a crossbreed between humans and birds.

Phase five was a mix of the harpies of the previous round and the hellhounds. Phase 6 three hydras, luckily Tusker materialized and dealt with one while I fought the other and the soldiers kept the third one busy before Tusker and I took it apart.

The last was the most annoying of the bunch, a phoenix that really lived up to its name of being a immortal bird as when it seemed to be on the brink of death it would shrug off its death like appearance like a worn out cloak and become as strong as it was when the fight began.

The only saving grace was the fact that there was only one phoenix to deal with; also I noticed that the water spells of my mana creations affected it more than my lightning spells and brute force attacks with my sword did.

After freezing the phoenix and shattering the remains the voice says in its robotic voice, “all stages complete commencing fusion of fallen core with mana area of candidate”. With that sentence a pain that rivaled that I felt when I was torture at the start of the game spreads over me as I watch my mana city expand and become more populated as the walls become higher, thicker with trechubets manned at the towers that are growing out from the ground.

The pain forces me to return to the real world where the void is now been replaced with the scene of hundreds of glowing orbs of different sizes and colors floating around me. “What a strange creature, first a human, then a hybrid and soon to become something else” a voice says coming from one of the floating orbs.

“leave them alone they are not yours to fuse with” a voice that sounds like that of a grandfather says as two orbs float closer to me .the first orb is easily the largest orb in this place and the brightest too though the second orb seems to radiate something that makes a chill crawl up my spine.

“it’s time to return what was lost” a voice says from the larger orb as the sound of dragons roaring fill the area and the two orbs enter my chest .with that I am teleported out of the area back to where the chief are still standing .