"Character template construction in progress... Construction complete."
"Monster template construction in progress... Construction complete."
"Player template construction in progress... Construction complete."
"Class system construction in progress..."
"Quest system construction in progress..."
"Game rules injection..."
"World data initialization beginning..."
"Current progress: 1%, 2%, 3%...5%...21%...34%...57%...82%..."
"..."
...
In a haze.
Lucas seemed to hear a distant voice echoing in his mind.
Then, he woke up.
As if born anew, or just roused from a deep sleep, a bewildered Lucas looked around at his surroundings.
It was a wilderness.
The sky was overcast and gloomy, shrouded in a misty haze; the land was desolate and barren, devoid of any signs of life.
As far as the eye could see, there were only vast stretches of ruins and countless bones scattered across the desolate ground.
Even himself...
Looking down instinctively, Lucas saw only a pile of bleached bones!
"Have I become a skeleton?"
Feeling everything before him, Lucas was filled with confusion, unsure of his current situation.
At that moment, the distant voice echoed in his mind once again.
"World data initialization complete."
Ethereal.
Mechanical.
Devoid of any emotion.
Hearing this voice again, Lucas was startled. The confusion and doubt in his heart vanished, leaving only shock.
"Is this... the system notification?"
"Have I crossed into 'The Second World'?"
The distant voice was not unfamiliar to Lucas.
Or rather.
Every player of 'The Second World' was extremely familiar with this voice.
'The Second World' was a game.
From the moment one entered this game, this ethereal, mechanical, and emotionless voice would accompany each player for life!
Because...
This was the system notification of 'The Second World'!
"'The Second World'..."
"Perhaps..."
A thought struck him, and Lucas silently called out in his mind: "Status panel?"
The next moment.
A semi-transparent status panel appeared in his field of vision!
[Name]: Lucas
[Race]: Undead - Skeleton
[Level]: Level 1 (0/100)
[Status]: Health 8, Mana 15
[Attributes]: Strength 0.7, Agility 1.2, Constitution 0.8, Spirit 1.5
[Talent]: Erosion (Unique Talent)
[Skills]: None
...
...
Apart from one being a player template and the other a monster template, the status panel that appeared before Lucas's eyes was not much different from the one he once owned.
Coupled with the system notification that had accompanied him for a long time, Lucas finally accepted the fact that he had crossed into the game world.
"No."
"Perhaps not crossing..."
"But rebirth!"
His gaze moved downward.
Scanning through his current attributes line by line, Lucas's eyes finally rested at the bottom of the status panel.
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There was a string of numbers.
Open beta countdown: 90 days 13 hours 24 minutes.
"So, I've been reborn from ten years in the future to the present when 'The Second World' has not yet opened, and from a player in the real world to a skeleton in the game world?"
When he reached this conclusion, Lucas didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
Organizing the information in his mind, Lucas came to several conclusions:
1. He had changed from a player to a monster, naturally losing the player's ability to respawn infinitely. 'The Second World' was a real world; once he died, he would truly be dead.
2. With the monster template, he was inherently in an opposing faction to the players. And the players, known as the "Fourth Calamity"... even if they faced a god! As long as a health bar appeared, they would dare to kill it!
3. There were still three months until the open beta, meaning he had three months to grow before the players officially arrived.
4. Having returned from ten years in the future, 'The Second World' had not yet officially opened, which meant the gods had not awakened, the game had not invaded, and the real world... had not yet been destroyed!
Yes.
Destruction.
Before Lucas was reborn, the real world had been destroyed.
Players changed the game, and the game also eroded reality.
Ten years later.
When the game's erosion of reality reached a certain level, the sleeping gods awakened.
The worlds connected, and the extraordinary descended.
Even with ten years of growth, the players were still no match for the gods.
When the deities, who reigned supreme over all living beings, descended and appeared in the real world, even the combined forces of numerous legendary players... could not hold back a single god!
Then.
The world was torn apart, reduced to ruins!
The creatures of the real world, those who worshipped the gods, were taken to the gods' domains; the powerful fled to other planes; and the majority... were obliterated at the moment of the world's destruction, turned into wandering spirits roaming the shattered world.
As for Lucas...
Even as a level 76 legendary sword saint, when that moment came, all he could do was flee into the game world! While seeking vengeance against the divine faction, he also endured their relentless pursuit!
Countdown to the open beta?
Hah!
Looking at the string of numbers at the bottom of his status panel, Lucas couldn't help but sneer.
Rather than a countdown to the open beta, it was more like a countdown to the world's destruction!
With his past life's experiences, Lucas understood the terror of the gods better than anyone.
Not just now, but even if the players' power at its peak in his previous life were increased tenfold or a hundredfold, they would still be no match for the gods!
The destruction of the real world was inevitable.
It could be said.
When the countdown to the open beta of the extraordinary game 'The Second World' began...
The real world also began its countdown to destruction!