A clamorous combination of my phone ringing and a heavy thudding on my door sounded in tandem. I groaned, rolling over onto my side and pulling the blankets over my head.

"Who the fuck is here at this hour?!" I grumbled, finally rolling out of bed and trudging over to the door as I picked up my phone.

"Good morning, Immortal." Celine's voice echoed from my phone as I simultaneously opened my door to reveal her standing there.

"What do you want?" I grumbled, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I took her in. She was wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a worn out tank top, her dark-red hair tied back into a messy ponytail.

"Let's get to the GPA building. They're going to register us in a party today, as well as our first training session," Celine replied without a moment's hesitation, not giving me the chance to respond. "Come on, we're already late."

"Wha- hey, give me a moment to get ready first!"

"Hurry up, we're already going to be late. I don't want them to put us in some random party."

"I swore I set an alarm for-" I glanced at my phone. "Celine, you're here almost three hours early."

"I figured it would be better to get there early and make sure we got into the same party as each other," she replied, not seeming the least bit phased by my accusation.

"How would that even... it's only the two of us getting registered. How could we not be in the same party?"

Celine shrugged. "You know how things go. Maybe they'll make it a larger group, or they could put us in different parties if we seem like we don't work well together."

[I get the feeling it's not really about getting in the same party...]

I sighed, turning around. "Give me five minutes."

----------------------------------------

In a few minutes, I was all dressed and ready to go, throwing on a simple t-shirt and jeans. My new Realmwalker cloak had a sleek and shiny look to its dark-blue hue, and I threw it on, noting how light and thin it felt. Almost as if it weren't there at all. I grinned, checking my new style in the mirror.

[You... look like you're trying too hard...]

"I was just trying it out," I grumbled, putting the Realmwalker back into my Inventory. Truth to be told, I thought I looked kind of cool.

"Ready?" I said to Celine as I walked out to my living room.

"Yep," she replied, already waiting by the front door. "I have a car waiting for us-"

Celine's face paled as I held out my arm.

"Um, Immortal, I was thinking we could take a car there..."

"Oh? I thought you were eager to get there early?"

Celine looked as if she were about to protest, but then she sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. I've noticed you've grown immensely stronger, but how much could that even be?"

----------------------------------------

I had never seen Celine so terrified until we literally flew over to the GPA within five minutes. Before I had gone to sleep, I had distributed an extra twenty-five million points into my four stats besides Risk. As a result, I was pretty sure I was flying faster than a plane, zipping across the morning sky with a grin. Celine, on the other hand, was clinging to my body with a death grip, tight-lipped the entire time.

As we approached the GPA building, I gently set us down, but Celine was either hesitant to let me go, or she hadn't processed that we were back on solid ground.

"You okay?" I asked with a grin.

"Huh? Oh, yes, Immortal..." Celine said, blushing as she finally realized that she was holding onto me. "I-I apologize. That was... the fastest I'd ever traveled..."

I chuckled. "Well, if you're ever feeling the need for a fast getaway, just let me know. But seriously, you should get your feet more used to flying if we're gonna be seeing each other a lot."

Celine nodded, still looking a bit shaken, but she forced a small smile. "Right. Thanks for the... advice?"

Out of curiosity, I checked her stats, mildly surprised to see her level jump even higher to 2231. She had even broken one hundred thousand on her Health and Magic, with a thousand points into Risk now.

"Hey... all you did yesterday was shopping, right? How'd you level up so much?" I asked, slightly in awe. "Even if the initiate dungeon gave you a bunch of experience, jumping four hundred levels in a day is something even I haven't managed yet."

[That's cause the system has to nerf you somehow...]

"Oh, I just complete daily and side quests," Celine replied, her composure already returning. "Most of them stem from my Title, but my Admin will occasionally find side quests for me to complete. Were you... not aware of this?"

"No." I quietly said, noticing that Sephera had fallen silent. Oh, she damn well knew what I was thinking about her right now.

"Well, in many cases, the quests appear in abundance after you decide which path to take; either joining a guild or going solo. I assume you haven't chosen one of the two, yet?"

"Er, no, not yet. I had my sights set on Helianthus..."

We headed inside the GPA building, making our way towards one of the simulation rooms once again. There were two officials standing guard outside one of them, so I assumed that that was where we were supposed to go.

"My guild? Why?" the Saint asked as we approached the officials and showed them our IDs. "I understand not wanting to join Inanis, but I'm curious as to why Helianthus."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

I sighed and gave her a half-hearted smile. "It's a long story. But if you want to know more, you could always ask me later. Right now, we should focus on getting through this."

Even as I said that, Celine and I immediately twitched, sensing a couple of extremely strong presences inside the white gridded simulation room. I hadn't realized that we were inside until the four people in front of us turned around.

Okay, there was Aurora, dressed in a black and red tracksuit. At level 3156, she hadn't grown that much stronger, still sitting around one hundred thousand on all stats. Then the woman of my dreams, Gigi, in black track shorts and matching black crop top. Level 2854, the weakest of the four, but no less powerful in her own right.

Then, Ophelia, or I guess Chronia as she wanted me to address her as, wearing a tracksuit similar to Aurora, but in a solid black. Jesus Christ, at level 5148, she had already broken a million into Health, Speed, and Strength. However, as strong as she was compared to the first two, the man that stood among them was the one who made me feel nervous.

With a relaxed aura, he was in a plain white tracksuit. Level 5789, he was easily the strongest here, but something about him was...off. It was as if he was holding back, or maybe just bored. The way he stood there, so tall and confident, made me feel a little intimidated. I glanced at Celine, who was staring at him with a mix of awe and nervousness.

"Luquier, Celine, you both arrived early," Ophelia calmly spoke, glancing at us with a hint of amusement in her magenta eyes. I nodded, not trusting myself to say anything yet.

"Oh? These are the new recruits?" The man smiled as he stepped up to Celine and I. He was admittedly pretty good-looking, with messy brown hair and bright green eyes. His voice was deep and smooth, almost hypnotic. I couldn't help but feel like I was in the presence of royalty.

"I can tell you're related to Chronia, so I'm assuming you're Aurora's little brother?" The man turned towards me, offering his hand. "I'm Seth."

I slowly reached out and shook his hand, feeling his strength even through our brief touch. "Luquier."

Whether or not he had Shrouded his stats, I couldn't tell, since he had it all on display when I checked it. I was in shock at what I saw.

[Name: Seth Pike | Level: 5789]

[Title: Behemoth (SS)]

[Health: 10960000 | Strength: 8800290]

[Speed: 5530000 | Magic: 5240000]

[Risk: 5000 | Stat Points: 0]

[Experience: N/A]

[!!! He has an SS-rank Title?!]

There was no doubt that despite my stats still being several times higher, there was something about his Title that made me sure that if we were to ever fight, Seth would come out on top. At least, for now.

"Lu, he's the vice-guildmaster for Inanis," my sister smirked as she joined us. "What do you think of my little brother, Seth?"

"He's... impressive," Seth replied, his eyes lingering on me for a moment. "And you're not in a guild yet? Why not join Inanis? I'll verify you immediately."

Huh. I had thought it would take longer for me to be recognized by the Helianthus and Inanis guilds, but it seemed like my feats were finally beginning to bear fruit. Aside from that, the most powerful Player I had ever met was personally inviting me to join his guild.

I glanced over at Ophelia, who didn't seem too bothered by the fact that a rival guild had offered their membership to me. That kind of sucked; I wanted to join Helianthus over my sister's guild.

"Ooo, you should totally take the offer, little bro!" Aurora's eyes gleamed excitedly, but then she realized where she was and our conversation. "Er, only if you want, that is. No pressure or anything..."

Seth continued to smile at me encouragingly, as if waiting for my answer. I glanced over at Gigi, who shrugged, seemingly indifferent. I turned back to Seth and smiled, feeling a mixture of excitement and nervousness in my stomach. "I'd be honored to join Inanis."

The words came out before I even had a chance to think it over. Damn it, it was only because Ophelia didn't seem willing to fight for me, and Seth's enormous presence made it hard to calm down.

As I shook his hand, Seth's smile faded slightly. "Well, I'd like to immediately register you, but if you don't mind, I'd like to test your strength."

"Um, are you guys going to do that right now?" Aurora hesitantly asked, glancing between Seth and me. "Because we do have a schedule to stick to, and...you know."

"It's fine, Avarice," Ophelia finally spoke. "To be quite honest, I'm also interested in how Luquier fares against Behemoth."

Seth winced. "Again, I'd rather you use my real name, Chronia." He turned back to me. "We'll duel for five minutes. Go all out, since I'll be going all out, too."

"Wait," I hesitated. "Aren't you like, the strongest Player?"

"Oh, not by a long shot," Seth laughed, stretching his body. "That belongs to Nephilim, who currently sits at level 7000, I believe."

[??? The world hasn't reached floor 40 yet, and there's a Player who's already at level 7000?]

I didn't get the chance to wonder what Sephera meant by that as Seth sent me a duel request. Slightly nervous, I accepted, feeling a sense of excitement growing within me. Honestly, I was planning to try out my new legendary Item later, but this seemed like a good opportunity to use it.

Equipping my Realmwalker and ring, I took out my Silver Serpent along with my Soultaker.

[Silver Serpent damage: 1000150]

[Soultaker damage: 10125700]

I smiled. Thanks to my Pendant of Offerings, I was able to use my Stat Points to level up my other Weapons and Items, along with increasing my Skill usage. That wasn't the only thing it could do though, but it wasn't something I could use in a duel right now.

As the world faded away in a blueish, grid-like replica, Seth cracked his neck and gave me a friendly grin.

"I've heard a lot about you. Clearing a few floors and dungeon breaks by yourself, and beating my old simulation record? Not to mention you've been known to laugh in the face of death."

What? Who the fuck had been saying that last part? Aside from that, it seemed like Seth had been the one who held the record that I shattered.

"Er... thanks? I guess?" I replied, crouching into a fighting stance.

"No problem. I'm excited to see what you're capable of," Seth grinned as he conjured what looked like a massive fang in his hands. "Oh, and by the way? I really do mean it when I say I'm going all out."

"Oh, I plan to do the same," I assured him, feeling the familiar weight of my Soultaker in my hand. "Let's see if we can break the dueling arena, huh?"

Seth laughed, then did something I honestly did not expect him to do.

Raising the cylindrical and curved fang, Seth quickly brought it down, impaling himself in the stomach.

****

[Updating…]

[Name: Luquier Vaunt | Level: 1511]

[Title: Infinite Immortal (S)]

[Health: 35750000 | Strength: 27300000]

[Speed: 26250000 | Magic: 26100000]

[Risk: 1281760 | Stat Points: 3094215]

[Items]

[Silver Serpent (1000150)]

[Soultaker (10125700)]

[Pendant of Offerings]

[Name: Pendant of Offerings]

[Traits: Bound | Sacrifice | Consume | Worship]

[Description: A glowing sapphire that was worn by a benevolent being. It can bring harmony or chaos.]

[Bound: Cannot be removed from user’s possession unless willingly relinquished.]

[Sacrifice: Enables user to invest Stat Points into Items, Weapons, or Skill usage.]

[Consume: Allows user to exchange Items, Weapons, or Skill usage in return for equivalent Stat Points.]

[Worship: Allows user to receive a portion of stats willingly offered by others.]