Chapter 1: Empress

A fireball dashed through the air, slamming into a parked car. The car exploded in a display of fiery chaos.

Not far away from the burning vehicle stood two individuals, facing each other. 

One stood tall, with muscle-bound arms, fire dancing at his fingertips. Across from him floated a woman, rocks levitated by her side.

The man sneered, “This time you won’t escape from me, Illutra!”

Illutra snorted in return, “When have I ever run away from you, Flaron? Today I’ll put an end to your crimes!”

“The National Hero Association will fall!” Flaron laughed, “Starting with you!”

As he finished his sentence he hurled a ball of fire forward, attempting to catch her off guard. The woman simply laughed, using her telekinesis to propel herself out of the way. She waved her hands forward, causing the rocks by her side to jump forward with startling speed. The man didn’t falter, he immediately spread his hands open and created a wall of flame, disintegrating the rocks before they could reach him.

Illutra clicked her tongue, prepared to attempt the attack once more.

However, before she could make her move, the air trembled. With a flash, appeared a woman cloaked in blackness. A crown rested upon her head.

Illutra and Flaron immediately went pale. A look of horror appeared on their faces.

“Empress!” they exclaimed simultaneously. Thoughts of fighting immediately vanished. The two turned in the same direction and ran as fast as their legs could carry them.

They didn’t make it far. Almost immediately, invisible barriers appeared in front of them, cutting them off from the rest of the world.

Empress walked slowly, a disinterested expression rested upon her face. On her hips rested a pistol in a holster and a rapier in a sheath. She exuded an aura of radiance, causing Illutra and Flaron to tremble in fear.

“Truce?” Illutra yelled to Flaron.

“Deal!

The two gave up thoughts on running away. With Empress’s powers, there would be no escape.

They took a deep breath before launching their attacks. Steel pipes flew forward, attempting to impale Empress. Whips of fire followed closely behind.

Empress’s expression didn’t change. Without moving a muscle, she conjured invisible walls in front of her, causing the attacks to collapse upon impact.

Illutra and Flaron’s expressions turned ugly. They weren’t expecting their attacks to work, but seeing them fail still hurt their pride.

Flaron cursed aloud, “Why Empress of all people? Even Rai wouldn’t be as bad!” 

Illutra sighed in defeat. She knew it was over. No one had managed to escape Empress’s wrath.

Empress turned her gaze towards the two. Her eyes were cold, causing observers to shudder. She raised her hands high into the air, causing Illutra and Flaron to gulp. Then, with a sudden movement, she brought her arms crashing downwards.

Walls of energy fell from the sky, instantly flattening the duo. They were crushed upon the ground. Screams of pain rang out as the barriers pressed on top of them. They flailed wildly in futile attempts to escape.

After minutes of agony, the walls increased their pressure, cracking all of their bones, killing them instantly.

A screen appeared in front of Empress’s eyes.

+50 to notoriety for killing Illutra. 

+50 fame for killing Flaron. 

+100 experience points.

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Empress licked her lips in satisfaction. She disappeared in a flash of light.

In a dark and gloomy apartment sat a gaming capsule. All of a sudden, the capsule opened with a click, revealing the disorderly youth who laid inside.

The girl had deep bags under her eyes and unkempt hair. Her clothes were arranged sloppily across her body without a care for aesthetics.

With a yawn, she pulled herself out from the capsule, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. A light smile was on her face.

“Today’s hunt went well,” she thought while stretching.

The girl was none other than Empress. She had started playing Dawn of Gaia only a few weeks ago, yet she was already considered one of the most notorious beginners. 

DoG Online set aside a starting area for beginners to hone their skills. Empress was still in that area. After she reached a certain level, she would be kicked out and forced to play against the true titans of the gaming world.

However, she was currently undefeated in the starting zone. For reasons people were unable to identify, her powers were incredibly potent, easily crushing the other beginners.

The girl reached over to a nearby table and grabbed her cellphone. She glanced over the dozens of unread messages with a sigh. Almost all of them were addressed to “Vivian” from “Mom”. She ignored them as usual and turned off her cellphone.

After climbing out of the capsule, she staggered over to her computer. Her legs almost failed her due to her spending an exaggerated length of time lying down.

She grabbed her mouse and clicked her way towards Dawn of Gaia’s daily leaderboards. After gazing over the overall section, she went to the beginner rankings. At the top of the list sat the name Empress. She smiled in satisfaction.

There were many different leaderboards. Some were ranked by notoriety, fame, or kills. Others were ranked by superpower level, crimes committed, and crimes stopped. 

Vivian currently held the top ranks for kills and superpower level. Her force field ability and minor teleportation had already reached level five. 

The rewards for being first on the leaderboards were great. You could win various equipment or even power crystals.

The reason Vivian was able to crush all the other competitors was due to the snowball effect. The beginner area had opened not long ago, causing all the new players to start on equal grounds. With sheer luck and effort, she managed to come in first place on the leaderboard that day. Her reward for coming in first place was a minor power crystal. The crystal increased the potency of her barriers, making her stronger than the average player. Due to her head start, she was able to win another power crystal the following day, which made her even stronger. This process continued until she was much stronger than all the other players beneath her.

She knew this wouldn’t last for long though. As soon as she left the starting area, she would be forced to fight against players that had been playing for months.

She took a swig of water from the bottle next to her computer. She contemplated sleeping, but she knew she couldn’t. If she slept, someone could pass her on the leaderboards and win the power crystal. She couldn’t afford to lose her advantage. She would sleep during the four hours the leaderboards were being examined.

After warming up and eating a slice of pizza, Vivian returned to her capsule. She climbed inside of it, a predatory grin appeared on her face. She still had work to do.

The capsule closed with a click.