When I opened my eyes I was lying face first on the ground in front of the sage, drooling.

As I pushed myself back up, immediately I knew that something had changed. It was extraordinary. I was somehow both inside and outside my body. I was everywhere in the game world. I could sense the heart beats of thousands and thousands of monsters. Big and small, and the ones in the middle.

I knew all the thoughts swirling in their heads. I was well aware of the intense hatred they harbored for players.

What was more, I could command them, as easily as I could command my arms and legs to move. They were me and I was them. There was no barrier separating us. Our bodies were mere shells, we shared the same soul. I was limitless.

The town of players would fall.

I bowed low, in a gesture of thanks to the sage and the game world.

“Go,” the sage said. “Go and triumph!”

I left the sage’s dwelling. Outside, there was a vibration in the ground. Tens of thousands of monsters were on the move.

They were all coming for the town on my orders. No room for mercy today. As I marched for the bridge, one by one, hundreds and then thousands of eviluns joined me.

My loyal Skhites and Hornies were the first to arrive. The stone giants came lumbering in the hundreds.

The speedy Mantures hovered in the sky above me. The last time I had chased them away to protect the farms. This time however they were my allies. They would be my aerial attackers.

Multitudes of small and tiny monsters joined me. The size of Littlefuts allowed them to hide and attack without drawing notice. And when they teamed up, they were as formidable as any big monster. The sheer variety of eviluns that had responded to my call was astonishing.

By the time I reached the bridge, we were a massive army.

The players had gathered at the gate of the town on the opposite bank of the river. Fear was written on their faces. This was a game, yes, but we intended to strip them of all their levels and bring them to zero. All their work in Dharti would go to waste.

I lifted my hand and my army halted. The air was still and all noises ceased.

There beyond the players was Kiara suffering in a dark room. My nostrils flared. I let every cell in my body access that anger that I had so far contained.

I pumped a fist into the air.

A great roar exploded from my mouth. The monsters took my example and the air boomed with their growls and howls.

Players were beginning to flee back into the town. Only a few adventurous ones remained, but their courage was wavering.

We charged.

A powerful spell directed at the bridge blew a hole in the deck. The bridge bent steeply and collapsed. Many monsters fell into the river, but a manture caught me with his claws. He flapped his wings frantically, slowing down my fall and safely landing me on the back of a swimming stone giant.

I crossed the river atop the giant. Some of the smaller monsters were washed away, but many managed to swim across despite the strong current.

When I reached the bank, half of the players that had remained to fight had fled. Before I had time to evade, someone threw some kind of a net spell at me, and I found myself trapped like a fish, unable to move. It was done by a wizard, and now his companion, a warrior, ran to kill me. Perhaps they had realized I was the leader.

A manture dropped a skull-sized stone on the head of the wizard. The warrior was picked up by one of the stone giants who smashed him on the ground with such force that his stomach vomited out his guts. A skhite freed me from the net.

I realized it was none other than Nora and Nadir. Consumed by rage, I hadn’t even noticed them.

“Why don’t you put on your spell and become a Skhite?” Nora suggested. “That would mask your true identity as our leader.”

As always, Nora’s words were sensible. I quickly transformed into a Skhite. For some reason, only then I noticed I possessed innumerable spells, and I could easily transform into any monster I wished to be. Even my mana level was extraordinarily high. Dharti had made me unimaginably OP in exchange for my sacrifice.

The army of the eviluns breached the defensive lines of players and penetrated the town. It was surprising to see so few players inside. The vast majority of the defenders were elves. Had the players logged out to save their skin? It wouldn’t matter. They would meet their deaths when they were back online. We were all set to conquer the town.

I changed to a stone giant. A notification warned me this would consume high mana. But I had so much mana now that I could afford being a stone giant easily.

The defenders of the town repelled us with spells and arrows. Some players were very skilled, no doubt, but the sheer numbers of monsters continuously pouring into the town overwhelmed them. Arrows bounced away from my stone body. The spells did minimal damage, besides I escaped most of them. I had long legs, which could propel me tens of meters away with a single leap.

I strode for the location where Kiara was being kept.

Soon I was at the premises of the inn. My heart was beating fast. It was an old inn, possibly out of business for a while. The neighborhood was a shady one. Brothels and gambling houses were just a stone’s throw away.

I encircled the inn. Through a window I caught sight of her, gagged and bound to a chair.

I put my arm in through the window and grabbed her and took her out. Her captors shouted and cried, taken by fear and surprise in equal measures.

I tore all the ropes that bound Kiara and crushed the chair to dust. One side of Kiara’s face was swollen, obviously the result of a hard slap. My blood boiled seeing her condition.

“Is it you… Vicky?” Kiara slurred. She struggled to open her mouth properly. Her clothes were torn in several places. Had they dragged her on the floor?

“It is me—”

I couldn’t complete the sentence. The players inside the inn sent a volley of fireballs.

I crashed against a building, most of which crumbled thanks to my weight. Screaming elf whores scrambled from the spot.

I had cradled Kiara and made sure no harm came to her. I now placed her on the ground.

“You wait here,” I said. “I will go and deal with those bastards.”