Morgan looked at Salim in disbelief. "Hannah? That’s impossible. She’s one of the players dedicating everything to making the world a better place. And I know her personally—she’s not the kind of person who would do such a thing. How did you come to that conclusion?"
Salim’s voice dropped lower. "Because, I know for sure, she failed to recruit someone I know. He paid for her failure to enroll him in her private army with his life."
"I don’t have proof that she’s responsible for the disappearance of hundreds of other players," Salim continued, "but from what I know, they all vanished under the exact same circumstances."
Sora, sitting beside Kara, who was still recovering, focused intently on the conversation beyond the veil. He didn’t know how to react.
If Salim is right, and he doesn’t strike me as someone who spouts nonsense, then that woman is a vixen, just like Kara suspected… Wow. But how did she pull all of this off? Is it some kind of innate ability? She’s probably working with others,' he thought, trying to piece together her motivations and actions since their first meeting.
'She’s asked me to meet her after the event. Is she planning to play tricks on me?' he wondered, considering what she might have in mind. 'She probably doesn’t expect how much I’ve grown. This is giving me ideas.'
Morgan, visibly frustrated at his inability to get Salim to reveal how he knew Hannah was behind the strange events he described, eventually gave up. "I need to verify this information and investigate further before I can bring it up to the Board of Elders of [Gods]. If what you’re saying is true, this could become a nightmare for us. Hannah holds a enormous amount of power."
As the fight in the arena concluded, Morgan stood. It was his turn to fight.
------------------------
While Sora and Kara were climbing the tower, six months passed in the real world. As they were fighting for their ranking on the 16th floor, something was happening to one of their acquaintances in Russia.
Two opposing forces had gathered for a confrontation. On one side, a woman with long silver hair and wearing a crimson armor floated in the sky, radiating immense power. Behind her stood a dozen of elite players, each at level 180, their presence extremely scary.
If one looked closely at guild tag, it appeared they were all from the same guild: [GODS].
On the other side stood a massive legion of monsters and undead that stretched to the horizon. Every undead was at least level 140, and they stood still, their silence betraying the incredible level of control exerted by an overwhelmingly powerful being. In stark contrast, the monsters roared and trembled with excitement, their gazes looking at a figure in the sky, with reverence and awe, as if witnessing the most important event of their lives.
Floating above the monstrous horde were two figures who appeared to command the entire army.
One of them appeared to be an Asian man, his features ordinary yet filled with a suffocating presence. If Sora had been there, he would have been shocked to see the man’s face—an exact match to his own appearance in his first life. Yet, the name floating above the man’s head made it clear he was not Sora.
[Alius - Level 141].
Beside Alius floated a woman whose presence commanded respect. The information displayed above her name showed a level that few players in the world could match. She stood a head shorter than Alius, her white cloak flowing in the wind, and he positioned himself slightly behind her, his gaze fixed on her with emotion.
[Hope - Level 180].
The two groups faced off, with many high level players watching from a distance.
One of the players standing behind the silver-haired woman spoke up, his voice tinged with frustration. "So she’s the reason 15 of us were called in to deal with this kid? And how did we go from trying to recruit him to sending an elite squad to eliminate him? How did things escalate like this, Hannah? Even Hope is involved!"
Hannah, usually composed and cold, stood unusually tense, her gaze on the figures floating before them.
"He’s gone too far," she said sharply. "Russia is now deserted of all its monsters, and its resources are drying up. Everywhere he goes, the region’s monsters either join his army or die and return as his undead."
The same player, clearly confused, responded, "Isn’t that a good thing? There’s no threat in this region anymore... I’ve never seen a place so peaceful."
Hannah turned, glaring at the player as if he were the dumbest person alive. "Are you stupid? How can players grow in a world where there’s no way to gain levels anymore?"
The player laughed nervously, clearly embarrassed, and quickly fell silent, redirecting his focus to the figures floating in front of him.
Hannah continued, her tone trembling. "And anyone with half a brain can see his power is clearly leaning toward evil. He’s only level 140, but he’s already too dangerous. We need to take him out before he becomes an even bigger threat. And for some obscure reason, Hope seems adamant about protecting him, so we’ll need to go all out."
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On the opposite side, Alius’ gaze shifted from Hope to the players floating in front of him, his expression darkening.
'What a bunch of trash,' he thought, his frustration soaring. 'They think they want to get rid of me while they still have the chance?'
His thoughts turned bitter as he reflected on his current predicament. 'Raising my kids attracted too many eyes... Even focusing on regions deserted by humans wasn’t enough to keep attention off me. Damn it, if only I had more time to develop.'
Alius’ gaze moved back to Hope, his frustration mixed with a sense of worry. 'These actions are the exact reason I met her in the first place... But now, because of me, she’s in danger. I don’t want to lose her.'
His eyes softened as his thoughts continued 'She’s the only one who sees me as... a real person. I’m not worthy of her, but I can’t let her down.'
'And choosing this appearance to troll Sora is backfiring. What if he gets into trouble because of me? That’d be disastrous. Why are you still not back, Sora? You’ve been away for almost half a year already in that damn tower…'
Each time Alius tried to send a friend request, he was met with the same frustrating message, making any communication impossible.
'Problems started when that witch came to recruit me…' he thought bitterly, his mind drifting back to the chain of events that had led him to this moment. He remembered how it all began.
------------------------
Half a year ago, Alius had unlocked a class known as [Deathweaver]. The class, rated [Mythic], gave him control over [Soul Power], a resource he quickly realized was unlike anything he had used when he was 'Sora' or 'Ralph.'
Spending his first life taming some monsters and turning others into undead, he began experimenting with Soul Power. As he dug deeper, a profound realization struck him.
'Soul Power is the key to everything living or dead in this New World. The living fear it, and the dead crave it.'
Binding himself to hundreds of undead and a few beasts, he reached his first limit.
His [Soul Level] was too weak to bind more creatures. He needed more Soul Power. 'I need more. Way more.'
He had found his path.
Aware of his limited options for accumulating Soul Power, he weighed them carefully.
'Using the Deathweaver class, [Soul Cultivation] is my first option. I can generate a [Soul Pearl] worth of Soul Power per day… It’s consistent, but too slow, but it seems to scale with my level and proficiency.'
He frowned, considering another method. 'I could use [Harvest], a skill from my class that allows me to extract Soul Power from targets, but it consumes their soul completely. I don’t want to go that far again...'
The memory of the [Frost Fairy], trembling in terror at the sight of Soul Power, surfaced in his mind. Shaking his head, he dismissed the thought. There was another way.
'I can reset countless times and amass [Soul Pearls]. That’s the clear choice.'
With his path decided, Alius resolved to pursue it.
[Do you want to undergo a Prestige reset?]
[You will lose all acquired experience, class levels, job proficiency, and items.]
[Yes] [No]
Alius hesitated briefly, but only to finalize his choice of appearance and identity. Although he wasn’t satisfied with his current name, he decided to keep the name Alius. It was the only way his other self, Sora, would easily find him, and in time, he had grown attached to it.
Opting for his original appearance—the one he had before his first death—he smirked, already imagining Sora’s reaction when they met again.
Having undergone a Prestige Reset, he watched in awe as all his beasts and undead were kept intact in his [Soul Palace], only their levels reset with his own.
Every creature bound to him reduced his leveling speed, so he made sure not to bind himself to any more creatures. Resetting a hundred times in just a few hours, he absorbed a [Soul Pearl] before each reset, minimizing the time spent alive, each time strengthening his connection to his [Soul Palace].
Feeling the incredible growth of his [Soul Palace], he was ecstatic, his mind racing with ways to accelerate his Prestige Grinding.
Eventually reaching a level where he could grind a thousand [Soul Pearls] in a single day, his mood was ruined by an unwelcome notification.
[You have reached the maximum amount of prestige resets you can undergo in the same day for your current level.]
'Damn it. I can't farm more than a thousand Soul Pearls a day…' he complained inwardly.
Spending part of each day grinding Prestige, much like players who religiously completed their daily quests, Alius settled into a routine. Alongside his resets, he resumed his favorite task: developing and training his army of monsters.
Careful to avoid the sight of major forces, he quietly grew in the shadows. For just over three months, he focused solely on his growth, steadily strengthening himself and his army. Everything was progressing smoothly until an unexpected notification halted his growth once more.
[You can not absorb any additional Soul Power.]
[Please wait for the next World Update!]
'What the? Isn't the world already updated?' He kept staring at the notification, puzzled.
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image-2024-11-02-192827181 [https://i.ibb.co/ZGDZGCj/image-2024-11-02-192827181.png]
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