It is 21XX, the entire world has finally been explored. From the deepest ocean caves to the highest mountains, all had been seen. So, those that wished for adventure, had to create their own.  

And so, Apex, the largest vrmmorpg to come out ever, was developed. With a world 10x times bigger than the Earth, full of dungeons, cities, and monsters. This game boasted a 99% realism guarantee, making it the #1 most anticipated game. Many corperations on the planet had a stake in it and after 50 long years, it was finally completed. Using military grade AI, the residents of the new world were brought to life. They were born and raised in Apex, without knowing anything about Earth. Their codename: locals.

In order to make a project on such a scale work and be fair, programmers created a completely autogenerated world, so that no one who worked on the project would have a leg over the rest. An advanced system of AI generated everything from the actions of both locals and players.

Thus, when the time came to open up the servers, just about everyone on the planet wanted to give it a shot. Everyone including the avid gamer and programmer, Roan. Roan grew up an orphan, moving from job to job until he finally saved up enough money to go to college. With his interest in games, he wanted to see what went into making them and after years and years of saving up, he was finally able to. He was a Junior in college by the time the game was announced and graduated a month before it came out. Excited to try it out, he despretely saved up for the dive pod needed to play it by working as much as possible and buying as little as possible. Due to this, Roan went hungry many days. Finally, just a day before the game came out, he was able to buy it. 

The first month was free to play, so everyone who had the correct hardware was able to sink there teeth into it. Apex allowed you to create your character before the game launched and Roan jumped in and did just that. He layed into the pod that was in the corner of his small apartment and started it up. With a low hum, the machine began and Roan's sight went blank. He was greeted with a couple of pop ups.

Welcome to Apex! Assigning ID to Pod.... Done! Would you like to create a character?

"Yes"

Right before his eyes he was greeted with a copy of his body and was given tools to change his mass and face. Roan was slightly skinny, had black sharp eyes, and messy brown hair. First, he played with the smallest and largest body options to find out it only increased and decreased his weight by about 30 pounds. He had a bit more freedom in adjusting his face, but didn't bother changing anything. Roan never cared about his looks. Once he was done testing various things, he fine finally pressed done.

Name your Character.

"Roan"

Name Accepted.

He decided to go with his own name since he didn't know many people in real life, so it didn't matter much.

Time Left Until Opening: 00:08:27

Roan excitedly waited for the timer to go down until finally...

Game Commencing...

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10 years have gone by since the game's release and people quickly found out that the 99% realism was no joke. You felt pain everytime you got hit, exhaustion when you got tired, and death was a scary experience for every player.

Inside a boss room of a certain hidden dungeon, Roan and about a thousand others were in a deathmatch against a large level 300 black dragon. After many years of fighting, he had finally joined one of the top guilds in the game: Hex. He had climbed up the ranks, until a new guild leader was to be selected. Roan even felt he had a pretty good chance at getting the seat too. 

The dragon's health dropped to 10% and Roan commanded, "Use everything you got! Kill it before it escapes!" Roan decided to go with the most basic class when he joined the game, Swordsman. He hacked at the giant dragon until it was in its' dying breathes. As soon as he was about to finish it off, he and the dragon were suddenly bombarded by spells and skills. He looked back just before he died only to see all of his commrades, who he had faught years with, smirking. Death in Apex is very detrimental to a player. Not only do you lose all of your items, but one fourth of your levels are forfeit as well. Levels that took years to build up. 

The only thing that was going through Roan's mind in this moment was one word: BETRAYAL

Roan had always been afraid of being betrayed, but never expected it from his comrades. The only reason as to why they would betray him is if someone else in the guild had offered them better. He could think of a few people, but it didn't matter now. He was out of the race and powerless to do anything. 

As he was falling to the ground, he looked at the Black Dragon who was falling with him until all he could see was darkness...

Huh?

It had been a couple seconds since he had died, he should have respawned in the nearest city by now. He waited a few moments until he was finally able to open his eyes. What greeted him was not the respawn point, but an old familiar ceiling. Sitting up, he looked around. He was in an empty apartment with a simple bed, a fridge, and a stove. He looked down at his wrist to see an old model he had not seen in years. He clicked on it, opening up a hologram in front of him with the date and time on it. 

This can't be right.

He had moved yout of this apartment ages ago. He looked out his window to see a run down street. After a couple minutes of calming himself down and double checking. It looked like he had really gone back in the past. It was the exact day that Apex was announced.

It can't be a coincidence.

Looking at the calender, Roan found out that today was a Sunday, which means that tommorrow he would have class. If this really was the past, there was no way he was ever going back to school. Once Apex came out, the best paying job became playing it. You could instantly become a millionare if you found the right items in high demand.

Struggling with the reality of the situation, Roan put his hand on his head.

Why was I sent to the past? Or am I still in the game? Shaking his head to get rid of his messy thoughts, he started to look for upsides.

If this really is the past, doesn't that mean I've hit the jackpot? I know the locations, habits, and valuables of many monsters. With this knowledge, I could become the Apex!

Apex was not only the name of the game, but also the highest attainable position. If one could become the Apex, not only would they gain wealth and power in game, but also in real life, garnering them 10% of the game's shares. After 10 years, there were 8 billion players, each paying a monthly subscription. Imagine what one could do with all that money. Of course, Roan didn't care about the money, he had enough of that in his last life. After 10 years of fighting, Roan had learned to yearn for the feeling of growing stronger. Now, with his new life, that was exactly what he planned to do.  However, even after battling as long as they did, the players of Apex were still far away from beating the top monsters of that world.

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After settling down for a bit, Roan started to think of a plan.

I was betrayed last time, so this time I think I'll just create my own guild. This time, I will make sure that I have the power to keep them in line.

He thought about going solo, but there it was considered suicide. Monsters frequently roamed in groups in Apex, making it difficult to solo as you were often outnumbered.

With his new plan in mind, Roan decided to take some steps forward. He still had about a year before the game came out, so he would quit school, get a job, and work out. He had neglected his body's health in his last life and he wasn't about to make the same mistake again.

One year later, a slightly more fit Roan looked at his dive pod in his apartment and got in.

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This time, Roan decided to perfect his swordsmanship. He aquired a hidden class and many items in his journey. He created a guild with many powerful allies that he equipped with equipment he heard about from his last run. His guild was at the top of the player world. He made it to level 400 and had numerous skills by the time he found himself at the hidden dungeon again. This time, however, he took it out without any issues. As the black dragon was in it's dying breaths, it roared one last roar and fell. 

Nothing happened this time... hmmm...

As Roan was thinking of what had caused him to go back in time, something shadowed his entire attack force. He looked up to see blood red eyes staring at him. His mind stopped in a halt, then it was over. Everything was black again.

Roan waited... and waited... until...

"Im back again!?!?"

He woke back up in that same apartment. He was scared out of his mind. Those eyes... Everytime he thought about it, it haunted him. As he was shivering in his bed, he thought, What's going on?! How am I supposed to beat that?!

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And so, the cycle began.

Roan made it to level 500 the next run and dual weld magic swords. He created a massive army loaded with the best weapons he could find with his strength. Still, however, he was destroyed instantly and was sent back. So, he decided that maybe he needed a different weapon. He tried a bow, a spear, an axe, a halberd. When those didn't work, he tried learning magic. Fire, Earth, Water, Wind, Blood, Light, Death, Demon, Dragon, and any Unique magic he could get his hands on. It didn't matter, no matter what he mastered, he wasn't able to slay the beast. By this time, Roan had lived and battled for well over a hundred years. He had expored much of the map, looking for something to give him a clue. Roan had long since given up teaming and thus stopped talking. Many people now just assume that he is a strange local due to his unusual antics. Quite a few players have even tried to get quests from him.

And now, at the start of his 18th run, he had finally found a clue. He had been still on the top of mountain for about a year, facing the cold feirce wind. His body frozen in ice, not making a single movement. Until....

Ding! After temporing your body in the harsh cold, you have earned the trait: Frozen Body.

You can no longer be affected by the cold, but it is harder to move your body.

Congratulations, you have met a qualification for the class: Apex.

Qualifications Met: 1/10

Roan looked down at the message and for the first time in years, smiled.

Following this message, Roan went out to find the rest. he tested many things trying to get another qualification. He bathed in fire, drowned in water, walked through fields of blades and magic, fasted, ate poison, and by the end forged an unbreakable will.

Ding! By passing all of the physical bounderies you have earned the trait: Indomitable Will

In a battle of willpower, you will not lose.

Congratulations, you have met a qualification for the class: Apex.

Qualifications Met: 9/10

Now, Roan was immune to just about every type of damage. He could no longer be burned, frozen, drowned, poisened,  or injured by blades or magic. He no longer needed to eat, drink, or sleep in game. Nothing could overcome his willpower. However, he was still missing one last piece. He searched and searched, but found nothing. With no other choice, he linked the last remaining piece to the beast he had yet to slay.

Walking up to the hidden dungeon with nothing but rags and his fiists, he went in. Nothing was able to damage him, so he simply walked by all those trying to hurt him. Roan had long since gone numb to normal pain and fear. Going into the last chamber, he looked up and saw the thing that had been tormenting him for all these years. Before it could react, Roan jumped and hit down with his fist. Over the years, he had noticed that it's attacks were getting weaker. In the beginning, it only took one attack to take Roan down, but in his most recent run it had taken much more. The beast flew down, flattening the black dragon below, then quickly jumped up and returned fire. Rather than trying to dodge like he normaly did, Roan stood there and took the attack.

Instead of his body burning, he felt something else on fire, but wasn't very sure where it was. The pain, like always, was unimmaginable. Gritting his teeth, he powered through searching for the phantom ache. It wasn't until he was just about to pass out, that he found it, only to be greeted by darkness yet again.

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Waking up in his apartment, he sat up and began to think.

I was able to feel it at that moment, but now it's gone. He sighed. What was that? After a few more moments, it finally hit him like a truck.

A SOUL?!... If so, that would make sense. That monster was attacking my soul directly all this time! No wonder I couldn't do any damage to it. The only way to kill it is to probably go after it's own soul. But... a monster with a soul?

After all this time, he had finally found the answer. He was excited, but dreading the process to find his soul again.

Looks like I'll need to get all those traits back if I want to feel it again.

And so, the cycle started once more. The 19th run, Roan felt it again, this time much quicker. By the 22nd run, he was able to naturally sense his soul. From there, it was much easier. He no longer needed the beast's help to sense it. He began to try and move it, in and out of game. It took many tries, but he was finally able to move it according to his will. He then hit another wall, how was he suppossed to see and attack other souls. So, he went back to his old pal to try and learn. At first he was only able to sense a small presence, but as he trained more, Roan was able to sense the locations of others' souls. He found that the people and players' souls that he ran into, were stationary and much smaller than his own. He also noticed that no other monster he ran into had a soul. From his gathered information, Roan was able to figure out that the beast was not getting weaker, but his own soul was getting stronger through the continuous battles and rebirths. 

Finally, on the 27th run, he felt confident. In the last run he felt as if his soul was almost even with the beasts'. He was so close to cutting it's soul in half. So, he got up and went at it again, just like he had done before. Through his runs, he was able to come up with a regimen that would be able to get him 9/10 qualifications the fastest. It was extremely grueling, but he was able to achieve it in just two years by stacking them on top of each other. 

Following a year of training and playing the stock market in real life, he spent the next two years in game suffering to his very best. Then, the day finally came. A physically 25 year old Roan had aquired 9/10 qualifications and was standing outside the lair. Taking a deep breath, he went in.

The result:

After a long and arduous battle, Roan split the beasts soul in two.

"ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAA"

With a pain filled cry, the beast finally dropped for good.

Immediately upon the death of the beast, Roan heard what he had been searching for all this time.

*Ding*

You have done the impossible and slain an Apex Beast!

+Absorbed Apex Beast Soul

Congratulations, you have met a qualification for the class: Apex.

Qualifications Met: 10/10

You have met all qualifications, would like to aquire the class Apex?

Feeling a strength Roan had never felt before, he stated "Yes."

Apex

You have trained your body to the utmost limit and finally broken through the last roadblock.

You have gained: Immortal Body

Huh... It's finally over... But, now what?

Roan rested there for a moment, until he heard another ding.

Congratulations, you have been Chosen.

Transporting in 3 Seconds

Inhereting System... Done!

The next thing Roan knew, he was lying back down in the same dungeon that he had just defeated the beast in.