A black BMW came to a halt in front of a massive gate, and the gate began sliding sideways automatically.

After about ten seconds, the gate fully opened, and the Black BMW drove inside.

The BMW drove through a wide driveway lined with dimly lit gardens. The drive leads to a two-story, Roman-style villa.

Ethan stepped out of the BMW as it came to a stop under the porch.

His steps came to a halt, and a look of wistfulness appeared in his eyes as he stared at the door.

He sighed and shook his head before opening the door and entering the villa.

The interior of the villa was lavishly decorated, with a chandelier dimly lighting the room, a luxurious couch in the middle of the hall, many expensive paintings hung on the wall, and a staircase leading to the villa’s first floor.

But Ethan’s gaze was drawn to a large portrait that was hung at the center of the hall.

It was a portrait of a man in his thirties, wearing a black colored T-shirt, with a squarish face and a handsome appearance, alongside him was a beautiful woman, wearing a white gown, her curly black hair was hanging by her shoulders, while she carried a boy, who was asleep, with his head resting on the woman’s shoulders.

He stood there staring at the portrait for a moment before walking over to the couch and slouching on it. His head hung up as his eyes stared at the dimly lit chandelier hanging at the ceiling.

His mind recalled memories from both his previous world and this world. His previous world was chaotic, and his hands were stained with the blood of many. Living the life of an assassin, he walked on a fine line between life and death.

In this world he was born into a wealthy family, the son of Brad Harrison, CEO of Harrison Corp, and Mathilda Harrison. His life had been very smooth and without hardship since his childhood until his parents died mysteriously in a plane crash and his father’s company was embroiled in some legal issues and a competitor attempted a hostile takeover.

Being dependent on his parents, their death literally shattered him, and he began to live his life in depression and dejection.

He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Images of the battle flashed through his mind once again. He had no idea what happened to Ebeisia after he died.

But a lot of this happened after he arrived in this world: images of the ruins which looked like the temple in Ebeisia, meeting the old man, learning about the game that may be related to Ebeisia, breaking his engagement, and Anna Roselyn.

Even though it had only been half a day, he sensed a mysterious link between this world and Ebeisia. Is it because of Goddess Nefetera? He was unable to point it out. But he somehow knew that his arrival to this world was because of her.

After a while of slouching on the couch, he stood up and went to the bathroom to take a bath, while his eyes scanned every nook and corner of the villa.

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The villa was far too large, but apart from him, not a soul could be found. He remembered that after his parents died; he fired every maid and butler since he chose to spend his time alone.

But as he entered the bathroom, his feet came to a halt when he spotted his reflection in the mirror.

Messy hair, fair skin, an oval face, hints of fatness on the cheeks, while even wearing a white t-shirt chubbiness was apparent.

He frowned as he looked down to see his hands, which were on the thick side. Everything happened so quickly that he didn’t have the time or energy to check on his body.

However, upon closer inspection, he discovered that his body was in poor condition.

“Weak, too weak,” he muttered as he clenched his fists tightly, but exhaled and shook his head.

............

Ethan came out of the bathroom with a white towel wrapped around his waist, while the droplets of water could be seen on his naked chest. He looked at the clock and saw that it was ten o’clock at night.

His gaze was then drawn to a sixty-inch television mounted on a wall; his eyes squinted momentarily before he sat on the couch, picking up the remote and turning on the TV.

When he turned it on, his eyes narrowed as he saw it was a news channel covering a live press conference from Arcanum Solutions, the developer of the game Defeat the OVERLORD.

On the screen was a man in his fifties wearing a grey suit with a striped blue tie around his neck. He had slick short whitish grey hair that complemented his squarish, slightly wrinkled face, and round silver frame specs hung above his nose.

His lips were slightly curled as the man’s concentration was fixed on someone.

“Mr. Rutherford, your company has spent billions of dollars on marketing, and the game has become the talk of the town in every corner of the world. You claim that this game will change our perception of how we perceive games. Could you please elaborate?” A female reporter posed the question.

Mr. Rutherford gave a small smile. “Well, I don’t want to ruin the experience. The game’s release date is only a week away. We can wait, right?”

There was a clamor among the reporters to ask the next question, but Mr. Rutherford pointed to a reporter. “You Please?”

“Thanks. But, could you please tell us why the company created the game’s specific pods? Don’t you think it will hurt the other companies that manufacture gaming pods?”

A smile still hung on Mr. Rutherford’s face as he answered the question, “Hmmm, if you want to experience the true fun of the game, you must use the pods created by our company. It’s unfortunate that I can’t comment on the status of other companies. They can build any advanced pod they want, but our game will only run on pods built by our company.”

His answer was firm as he scanned the reporters and pointed to one of them again. “Yes.”

“We were speaking about the Game Pod. How will you comment on the safety features of the Pods?”

Mr. Rutherford nodded and said, “A special team formed by all the governments of the countries all over the world has scrutinized our Pods. I can assure you that it is completely safe and will have no negative effects on the user.”

“Mr. Rutherford, Mr. Rutherford,......” the reporters hollered, but the man pointed to one of them and said, “You.”

“Thank you, Mr. Rutherford. There are rumors that this game will allow anyone to earn money, and many industries are keeping an eye on the game’s release. Is it possible for you to explain how the system will work?”

Mr. Rutherford nodded, his eyes shining with appreciation. “That’s an excellent question. I’ll give you a hint. The game will be a gathering place for millions and billions of people. What do you think the marketplace would be like if the companies marketed their products? I’ll tell you one more thing: there are numerous features in the game that allow the player to exchange resources for money. I believe that answers your question, correct?”

He still had a slight smile on his face as he pointed to another reporter to ask the question.

“Could you please explain why you named the game Defeat the OVERLORD?”

“It’s very simple. The mission of this game is to defeat the OVERLORD,” Mr. Rutherford chuckled as he looked at the reporter.

But Ethan’s eyes narrowed as he noticed the chilliness in Mr. Rutherford’s eyes as he said that word.

OVERLORD