Shyri sat down on the edge of a rock waiting as she looked into the sky wondering why her life on New World online was going so differently then most players, Kame never mentioned anything about this title before when she was frantically going on and on about the game but she felt that no one else in the game had this title. Shyri’s HUD blinked indicating that Kame had teleported close to her location.
Finally, after a few minutes of waiting, a figure appeared on the horizon—Kame, Shyri’s best friend in real life. They had both started New World Online on different paths, and now, for the first time, their characters would meet.
Kame walked closer, her character striking a stark contrast against Shyri’s sleek and dark form. Kame's character, a Tiefling Warrior, was adorned in heavy chainmail, with a pair of elemental falchions strapped to her back. Fire and heat seemed to flicker off the blades, giving them a menacing glow.
Shyri glanced at her own reflection in the nearby stream. Her body was encased in a tight Ebony Body Suit that clung to her like a second skin, accentuating her lithe, agile figure. The suit was a deep black, blending seamlessly into the shadows around her, while the Shadow Warden’s Cloak draped over her shoulders added a level of mystery to her form. Her eyes glowed faintly with the power of dark magic, and the Dagger of the Void Walker sat neatly on her hip.
As they met, Kame grinned, eyes wide with admiration.
“Holy...! That looks insane!” Kame said, looking Shyri up and down. “You look like some kind of assassin! I’m so jealous. You got the royal starting path? Man, I should’ve chosen Dark Elf.”
Shyri chuckled, giving Kame a once-over.
“Yeah, well, I’m not sure I’d call it a blessing,” Shyri said, glancing at the Sinner title that still floated beneath her name. “There’s a price for everything, right? You, on the other hand, look ready to wreck some enemies.”
Kame gave a mock bow, her falchions clinking against her armor as she straightened.
“Thank you, thank you. I went with a Warrior class focused on elemental melee combat. My falchions are enchanted with fire right now, but I can switch them to other elements when I want. What about you? What’s your class?”
“Elementalist, with a focus on dark magic and elemental manipulation,” Shyri replied, summoning a small black flame to hover above her hand, a mix of dark magic and fire. “I’ve got some basic skills with the four elements, but my dark magic is the real kicker.”
Kame looked impressed, leaning in closer.
“Elementalist sounds OP. What level are you?”
“I just reset to Level 1 after the time skip, but my character has been boosted to the power level of a Level 15 player since I reached adulthood,” Shyri explained, crossing her arms. “It’s weird. I’ve got all my skills from before, but I’m basically starting over.”
Kame’s expression soured for a moment. “Man, you get royalty, a time skip, and a boost to level 15, while I had to grind in the Tiefling capital for hours just to get past the starter quests.”
Shyri laughed. “Yeah, but I also have a permanent Sinner title, and no one in the game trusts me. So, there’s that. Plus, my stats get cut in half if I’m in a party bigger than two.”
Kame winced. “Ouch. Okay, maybe I’m not as jealous anymore but I had not heard of that title before. Is it rare?.”
Kame moved her hand as she was navigating through menus before she looked back towards Shyri. “I messaged a few of my clan mates and asked about the title so we can see what they say about it because in my year of playing I don't know anyone who has that title or any permanent titles.
As Kame prepared to help her interface suddenly lit up with an influx of messages from her guild. Notifications flooded her screen, demanding her attention. The orange, glowing symbols blinked urgently, and Kame’s smile slowly faded as she quickly read through them.
Kame stared at the messages, her face tight with concern. She shifted her weight uneasily, gripping her falchions while glancing at Shyri, who seemed focused on her own interface, still unaware of the situation.
Kame hesitated for a moment before speaking up.
"Hey, uh... Shyri?"
Shyri looked over, her glowing eyes narrowing slightly, sensing Kame’s sudden change in mood.
"Yeah?"
Kame bit her lip, weighing her words carefully. She didn’t want to hurt her friend’s feelings, but the flood of warnings from her guild made it impossible to ignore.
"So, I’m getting a bunch of messages from my guild, warning me not to team up with someone who has the Sinner title."
Shyri’s face darkened, her expression shifting from curiosity to frustration.
"What are they saying?" she asked, though the answer seemed obvious.
Kame sighed.
"They're saying... teaming up with a Sinner is really dangerous. Apparently, if you die while in a party with someone carrying that title, you don’t just lose experience—you lose entire levels. That’s... a huge risk, especially for a raid player like me."
Shyri clenched her fists, the weight of the Sinner title feeling heavier than ever. The game’s mechanics weren’t just punishing her—they were isolating her. The title painted a permanent target on her back, making her a liability to anyone she teamed up with.
Shyri turned away from Kame, her heart heavy but her resolve firm. She didn't want to drag her friend into her cursed path any longer. The weight of the Sinner title felt more oppressive with each passing moment, but something inside her told her she was strong enough to handle it alone.
"It’s going to be fine," Shyri said quietly, though the words felt more like a reassurance to herself than to Kame. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing the concerned look on Kame’s face. “I’m strong enough to be a solo player now.”
Before Kame could respond, Shyri pulled the hood of her Shadow Warden’s Cloak over her head, the dark fabric seeming to swallow the light around her. She faded into the surrounding shadows, her form dissolving into the darkness as if she was never there.
"Shyri..." Kame whispered, watching as her friend vanished into the cave’s depths.
Shyri’s steps were silent as she navigated the familiar tunnels that led back to the Dark Elf village. Her mind raced with thoughts, her earlier conversation with Kame replaying in her head.
Only one other player is known to have the Sinner title…
That phrase kept repeating in her mind. If she could find this other player, perhaps they knew something. Perhaps they had been through something similar, or maybe they had uncovered a way to remove the cursed title.
The shadows welcomed her, each step cloaking her in the comforting, familiar darkness that defined her existence as a Dark Elf Elementalist. Her body suit enhanced her stealth abilities, making her nearly invisible in the cave’s dim light. She slipped through the passageways, unseen and unnoticed, moving like a whisper in the wind.
As Shyri neared the village, she slowed, her thoughts now fully focused on the mystery at hand.
Who was this other player? Why had they been marked with the Sinner title? And most importantly, how had they managed to survive in this game with such a burden?
As Shyri moved through the dark caverns toward the village, her mind raced, consumed by thoughts of the mysterious player who also bore the Sinner title. The idea that someone else had been through this nightmare both intrigued and unnerved her. If she could find them, they might have answers, or at least a clue about how to rid herself of this cursed label.
She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t realized how much time had passed. A sudden urge to check the time flickered in her mind, and instinctively, she pulled up her in-game clock. The glowing numbers hovered in her vision for a brief moment: 8:57 PM.
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"Almost nine already?" she muttered to herself, a sense of surprise creeping in. She had been playing for hours, fully immersed in the game. She mentally told herself she’d play for a few more hours—just enough time to gather more information before logging off.
With that, she pressed forward, her goal shifting. She knew where she wanted to go next: her family’s old house.
As she neared the once-grand residence, her steps slowed. The building, once a proud and regal home, now stood like a forgotten relic. Thick cobwebs draped over the door frame and windows, a clear sign that time had not been kind to it. The sight of the cobwebs confirmed what she feared—the game had progressed, not just for her, but for the entire village. The townspeople had moved on without her, leaving her family’s estate abandoned, like a ghost from the past.
Shyri hesitated for a moment, her hand reaching for the door. The memories of her parents, their faces, their voices, came flooding back, accompanied by the haunting image of their lifeless bodies in the throne room. Her heart tightened as she recalled the assassin tossing her the murder weapon and the accusatory eyes of the townsfolk as they barged in.
She shook her head, trying to dispel the painful thoughts.
"I don’t have time for this," she whispered. "I need to focus. I’ll be quick."
With a deep breath, Shyri pushed open the door to her old family home. The hinges creaked, echoing through the empty halls, as though even the house itself remembered her absence. Inside, the cobwebs were thicker, the dust settling in layers on the once-polished furniture. The elegant décor, now faded and forgotten, gave the house a feeling of desolation.
Shyri moved carefully, her footsteps echoing through the silence. The air was stale, heavy with the weight of time, but she pressed on, determined to search the house for any clues. The game’s story had advanced while she was frozen in time, and that meant something in this house might have changed too.
She made her way to her old bedroom first, the place where she had last rested as a child before everything had gone wrong. The room was untouched but abandoned, much like the rest of the house. As she stood there, looking at the cobweb-covered bed, a thought occurred to her.
"This place... it might still hold secrets," Shyri whispered to herself. Her hand tightened on the Dagger of the Void Walker as her mind raced back to the mysterious player. The assassin, the Sinner title, her family's murder—it all had to be connected.
And somewhere, deep within the village or the game’s world, the answer awaited her. But first, she needed to get to work.
Shyri took a deep breath and closed her eyes, feeling the familiar pulse of her dark magic flow through her veins. Her vision sharpened as she opened them again, the dull world around her now glowing with dark, ethereal hues. Shadows deepened, and hidden details came into focus as her enhanced senses allowed her to see beyond the ordinary.
She began her careful exploration of the house, moving from room to room with silent precision. Cobwebs hung like veils across the furniture and walls, but Shyri pushed through, her focus locked on the task at hand. There had to be something here—a clue, a hint—anything that could help her understand who was responsible for her parents' murder.
After a thorough search of her old bedroom and the family’s private quarters, she found nothing but dust and decay. With growing determination, she made her way to the throne room—the last place she had seen her parents alive.
The room felt eerie, as if it were still frozen in time from the day of the assassination. The stone floor beneath her feet felt cold, and the air was still and heavy. As Shyri stepped forward, she immediately noticed the dark stain on the floor, a patch of dried blood, the very spot where her parents had died.
She crouched down, her enhanced vision allowing her to trace the faint remnants of energy that still lingered there. The blood was old, dry, but something about it resonated with her dark magic. Shyri could sense it—an echo of the violence that had taken place. The room was steeped in memories of the event, and though time had passed, the dark magic in her veins connected her to the tragedy that had unfolded.
She touched the floor lightly with her fingertips, closing her eyes as she let her magic reach out. She felt the faintest trace of power, a shadow of what had been. The sensation was weak, but it was there. Something about the blood held a lingering aura—dark magic that wasn’t hers.
Her heart raced as she stood up, her eyes scanning the room. There had to be more. She carefully examined the throne itself, the walls, and the surroundings. Her enhanced vision revealed small scratches on the stone floor near the window—marks that might have gone unnoticed by anyone else. Shyri knelt beside them, examining the grooves closely.
"These weren’t here before," she whispered to herself. The marks seemed too deliberate, as if someone had tried to cover something up. She followed the faint trail, leading her toward a nearby pillar. Upon closer inspection, Shyri noticed that one of the stones in the pillar seemed slightly off, not quite aligned with the others.
With a quick glance around to ensure she was still alone, Shyri gently pressed against the stone. It moved, shifting just enough to reveal a small compartment hidden within the pillar. Inside, there was a piece of parchment, worn but intact.
Shyri’s hands trembled slightly as she unfolded the parchment. The handwriting was elegant but hurried. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized it wasn’t a letter—it was a map. A map of the Underdark, the vast network of caves and tunnels throughout the world. Marked on it were several locations she didn’t recognize, but one stood out—a cave, far from the village, circled in red.
She stared at it, her mind whirling.
"This... this has to be connected," she whispered. "It’s too deliberate."
The cave, whatever it was, might hold the key to finding the assassin—or at least, a clue that could lead her to the truth. Whoever had hidden this map had intended for it to remain secret, but now it was in Shyri’s hands.
She glanced back at the bloodstain one last time, the weight of the moment pressing on her. Her parents' deaths weren’t just a random act of violence. There was a deeper plot at play, and she was now one step closer to uncovering it.
With the map carefully tucked into her inventory, Shyri stood tall. She had found her first real lead in the quest to clear her name. Now, all that was left was to follow it—no matter where it might take her.
As Shyri left the familiar confines of the dark elf village, a strange mixture of excitement and nervousness coursed through her. This was the first time since the time skip that she had ventured beyond the borders of her home, the place she had known all her life in New World Online. Until now, her world had been limited to the dark caves and shadowed tunnels of the dark elf village, but that was about to change.
She glanced one last time over her shoulder at the village as it faded into the distance behind her. Everything had changed—her family was gone, the townsfolk saw her as a traitor, and the title Sinner weighed heavily on her as a player. But this moment felt like the first real step toward something new. Something bigger.
With a quick breath, she focused on the map in her mind, the hidden location circled in red just south of her current position, near the human city of Fireguard it was well-known in the game as a bustling city, full of life, commerce, and players from all over the world which Kame told her before. The cave marked on the map wasn’t far from it, nestled deep within the outskirts of the human territories.
As Shyri began to run, she marveled at how her body moved. The tight, sleek bodysuit gifted to her by her royal lineage wasn’t just for stealth—it increased her speed, making her movements faster and more fluid than ever before. She could feel the wind whip against her as she sprinted effortlessly across the terrain, her dark magic pulsing through her veins as she weaved through the caves and underground paths.
The cave systems gave way to larger, open caverns, and soon enough, Shyri found herself running along a path that led upward, toward the surface. She could already feel the air growing lighter, the oppressive weight of the Underdark lifting with each step she took toward the world above.
As Shyri sped through the dense forest on her way to Fireguard, her focus was sharp, her mind intent on reaching the cave marked on the map. The trees blurred past her as she pushed forward, her enhanced speed making the journey feel almost effortless. However, a strange sensation caused her to slow down.
Ahead, deep in the woods, the sounds of battle echoed—clashing steel, grunts, and the unmistakable crackle of elemental magic. Instinctively, Shyri’s pace slowed, and she crouched low, blending into the shadows of the trees. Her stealth skill, augmented by her bodysuit, allowed her to move silently, almost invisible in the forest.
As she approached the source of the noise, she spotted an NPC standing in a small clearing. The NPC—a tall man with silver hair and an elaborate set of armor—was in the midst of issuing commands to a group of adventurers who seemed locked in a fierce fight with each other. But something was strange. There was no visible enemy, and yet the adventurers appeared to be fighting one another in a frenzy, as if controlled by some unseen force.
The man stood calmly in the center of the chaos, watching with an eerie smile. His eyes glinted with something unsettling—an intensity that immediately put Shyri on edge. He appeared regal, but the aura around him felt... wrong. The adventurers, clearly players, were acting erratically, as if they had lost control of their characters.
Shyri narrowed her eyes and activated her dark magic vision, enhancing her ability to sense the flow of magic. As she focused on the NPC, she noticed a faint, malevolent energy swirling around him—a twisted aura of dark magic, not unlike the kind she had encountered in the Underdark, but somehow more chaotic, more dangerous.
"This isn't right," she muttered to herself, her instincts screaming that something was terribly off about the situation.
The NPC suddenly turned his gaze toward her as if sensing her presence, despite her stealth. His eerie smile widened, and in a smooth, almost mechanical motion, he called out to her.
"Ah, another brave soul wandering the woods," he said, his voice dripping with false charm. "Care to test your mettle in battle? These adventurers have already proven themselves... willing." His eyes flicked toward the still-fighting group, some of whom were clearly low on health but continued to fight in a trance-like state.
Shyri stepped out from the shadows, cautious but curious. "Who are you, and why are they fighting each other like this?" she asked, her voice steady but laced with suspicion.
The man chuckled, waving his hand dismissively. "I am but a humble warrior, offering a challenge to those who seek strength. However, not all who enter my domain leave unscathed. These adventurers have chosen the path of combat, and they fight for the rewards they desire."
Shyri’s eyes narrowed. Something about the way he spoke, the strange way the adventurers fought without reason, made her blood run cold. She glanced at the players, now clearly struggling to control their actions. It was as if they were being manipulated.
"Rewards?" she asked, stepping closer, keeping her distance from the NPC. "And what kind of rewards would force them to fight each other like this?"
"Power, of course," he replied smoothly, though there was a sharpness in his tone. "The strongest among them will receive great strength. A boon, if you will. But... only one may claim it."
Shyri’s instincts flared. The situation reeked of danger, and the NPC’s unsettling smile never left his face. There was something deeply wrong here—this wasn’t just a normal quest. The magic swirling around him, the eerie way the players fought, and his too-calm demeanor all pointed to something far darker.
She subtly checked her inventory, her hands hovering near her weapons, ready to defend herself if needed. "What’s really going on here?" she pressed, her tone hardening. "This isn’t a normal challenge."
The man’s smile faltered for a brief moment, his eyes narrowing as he regarded Shyri more carefully. "Ah, you’re sharper than most. Perhaps you’re not like the others," he mused, his voice dropping to a more sinister tone. "But no matter. You’ll join the fight eventually. They all do."
Before she could react, the NPC snapped his fingers, and a pulse of dark energy rippled through the clearing. The players fighting nearby let out strangled cries as the magic surged through them, further twisting their movements. Shyri felt the energy brush against her, but her connection to dark magic allowed her to resist its effects. Still, it sent a shiver down her spine.
"Care to fight for your life?" the NPC taunted, his eyes gleaming with malevolent intent. "Or perhaps you’d like to join them in their struggle for power?"
Shyri clenched her fists, her heart racing. This wasn’t just a quest—this was a trap, and the players were nothing more than pawns in some twisted game. Her dark magic flared up around her hands as she prepared for what might come next.