Micheal shot up from his bed. What the hell had just happened? He had been trashing that stupid tutorial, and then …

After beating the tutorial, he couldn’t remember anything. He absently looked down and paused; his skin was green. He patted himself down, feeling the rippling muscles of his chiseled jaw, his pointed ears, and the tusks.

With bated breath, he raised his hand, a ball of fire forming within at the slightest pulse of his will. A laugh, a true laugh of unadulterated joy, burst out of his chest as he realized that Michael was dead and Ignis, what had just been his game character, a level 10 half-orc Master Pyromancer, lived!!!!

Standing up, Ignis kicked open the door to his bedroom. The door didn't explode like he had been hoping.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING YOU UNGRATFUL BRAT!!!" Micheal's mother screamed as she raced up the stairs. "If you have damaged the wall."

Ignis felt his lips draw back in a snarl. All of Micheal's anguish and self-loathing came back even as Ignis tried to crush it down. He wasn't going to be pushed around. He thought as flames licked up and down his body. Not anymore.

The door was flung open, and a woman in ratty clothes with disheveled hair stepped into what had once been Micheal's room. Her teeth were rotting, and her eyes were cloudy. The veins in her arms were black, with multiple injection sites dotting her arm like mosquito bites. She held up the knife she liked to threaten him with.

"I AM GOING TO CUT OFF YOU EAR, YOU LITTLE SHIT, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOIN …. What?"

Ignis unleashed a wave of fire. The flames immediately engulfed his one-time mother, and she screamed. Ignis was a little stunned at his own actions. They were an instinctive reaction, not something he had intended, but he didn't regret them.

"This is retribution, you hag, for everything," Ignis snarled, his entire focus on the fire as it danced and twirled around her.

The flames were already spreading, but they didn't even harm him. Grabbing his valuables, he tossed them into his inventory as his room started to burn. Soon enough, his mother was dead, consumed in the fire. He didn't care as he walked out of his burning home.

The air was freezing, and he immediately shivered. Activating his bloodline, the flaming wings of the vermilion phoenix emerged from his back. Spreading out his wings, Ignis launched himself into the air.

For the first time in both lives, Ignis felt free. He flew on wings of fire and shot through the air with an ease that made him think he was dreaming.

Flying through the crisp winter air on his wings of fire was exhilarating. Looking at people wandering about on the ground like ants was surreal. If nothing else, he promised himself that he would fly regularly in his new life. The frigid air contrasted with the heat of his wings, giving him goosebumps as he looked down to see his house burning. Black smoke rose up into the sky in a beautiful cloud against the white backdrop.

"This is amazing," Ignis said softly to himself as he basked in a moment of peace.

The roar shattered the peace of the winter dawn—a very familiar roar. Ignis spun in a panic, his spells ready, as he searched the skyline for the source of the roar. Then he spotted it, and his worst fears were confirmed.

A Dragon, not one of its lesser cousins, a Wyvern; it didn't have front legs. A full-on Frost Wyvern flew through the sky miles away from him, but it was clearly a Wyvern. The only good news was that it was a frost Wyvern instead of a fire Wyvern, which would have been problematic for a pyromancer. Of course, a Wyvern was still a Wyvern, and at his current level, he had no illusions about surviving an encounter with it.

Deactivating his wings, he immediately started to fall to the ground. He just hopped. The Wyvern hadn't seen him flying around. He decided to do a quick review of his notifications as he skydived to the relative safety of the earth. Ignis' eyes hardened as he examined his notifications. A settlement would be a good start. His wings snapped out when he got close to the ground, and he shot off. He altered the trajectory of his wings, flying towards his friend's house. Pulling out his phone, he sent off a text.

IGNIS: LoN is real, flying 2 u

Graves: I know the reaper is alive.

IGNIS: There is a frost Wyvern towards the river B carful

Graves: fck, we are so dead man

IGNIS: im coming to your house before we search for a settlment

Graves: K. ive got cool stuff to show u

Ignis grinned as he soared forward toward Graves's house. He sent a few more text messages to his other friends as he slowly flew towards Graves's home. It took him an hour to get there, as he didn't have enough mana to use his fire magic like an aft burner. When he landed on the secluded lot, he found a man in all black with a massive scythe over his shoulder, watching a fat zombie shambling around.

"Graves," Ignis called out

The man in black turned to him, flashing him a knowing grin.

"Ignis, I see you're embracing our isekai." Graves said.

"This your uncle?" Ignis asked as he walked over to the fat zombie.

"His corpse, I'm keeping his soul close." Graves said, patting his scythe.

Ignis's eyes moved to the scythe's blade. He could see faces flash across the blade, evidence of the souls trapped inside. Ignis felt a grimace spread across his face.

"Why, I mean, I can't really judge as I killed my mom, but she was an abusive meth addict. What did your uncle do to you?." Ignis said.

"Nothing, really. I just wanted to kill him. Mind setting my place on fire. I'd rather not remember this place." Graves commented.

Ignis flicked his finger, blasting the two-story building with a fireball. Part of him was uncomfortable with the situation, but Graves was one of his few friends, so he wasn't going to push the issue.

"So what do you want to do next, Ignis?" Graves asked.

"Shade is in Surrey. He thinks he'll be here in a few days, and Aaltan is making his way out of Seattle toward us. He says it will take him at least a few days, so they won't show up for a while. In the meantime, we need to find a base," Ignis said with a grin.

"Kwantlen Polytechnic?" Graves asked.

"There are going to be a lot of people there. Unless the monster killed everyone there, we would have to conquer it," Ignis pointed out.

"So," Graves shrugged, "we kill some scrubs, and I get my zombie army."

"And what happens when the cops show up?" Ignis asked.

"What makes you think the cops will even be around in a week?" Graves countered.

"If the monster wipes out most of the people, that would be ideal for us. But we can't assume anything. What are the other options?" Ignis asked.

"The other options are the Delta Golf Club, Country Club, and the Performing Arts Center," Graves said.

"I like the Performing Arts Center. It's not likely to have a bunch of people fighting over it. And it's positioned away from most of the population. I went there as a kid a few times. It was nice. And I can fly in and conquer it before anyone is the wiser." Ignis said

Graves gave an evil grin as he unfurled wings that looked as if they had been dipped in tar.

"Bloodline skill?" Ignis asked

"No, my Bloodline is of the Corpse-Eating Maggot," Graves said with a cruel grin. "These are the [Wings of Night] from my class."

"That's perfect. As long as we stay low enough to avoid the Wyvern, I think we can both fly to the Performance Art Center," Ignis said.

"Before we go to the Arts Centre, I want to check out the university, just in case," Graves said.

"After." Ignis huffed as his own wings emerged, and he flew behind graves as they moved through the air. "We get to our home base first, then we can scout," Ignis muttered.

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

Ignis stared down at the Doppelganger as it crumbled into a burnt heap.

"That this was stupid," Ignis said.

"Oh, come on, we had fun." Graves said.

"We ran around the entire day having doppelgangers trying to get us to fight each other and mimics trying to eat us. It didn't even work properly; you're surrounded by undead, and I'm on fire." Ignis complained.

"Yeah, but do you know what kind of undead I could make with these things?" Graves asked.

"Dude, we wasted the entire day just wandering around killing monsters that were pretending to be us or furniture," Ignis said. "Even with the two levels and a title, It doesn't feel like a victory."

"Yeah, but Ignis, I've got so many undead now," Graves said.

"Too bad we can't use those settlement points," Ignis complained. Since neither of us has a leadership class, of course, we're blocked from the menu. I'll grab a level in [Noble]. I want to get levels in Bandit Lord later anyway."

"Nah, don't worry. I took levels in [Death Knight]. I already have access," Graves said with a smile.

"Here's to the rebirth of the [Apocalypse Force]," Graves said as he sent Ignis an invitation to the guild.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Ignis accepted and received his new title. He thought the name was badass, especially as he and his friends always picked up one of the four horseman classes. He already knew he would be Famine and Graves would be Death.

"First good news since we got here. What do you want to do with the loot?" Ignis asked

Graves shrugged. "Just stick it in your inventory for now. I want to go."

Graves spouted wings as he shot up into the air.

"Wait!" Ignis called out, taking after his friend. "Where are we going?"

"To the university." Graves said as if that explained everything.

"Graves, why are you going to Kwantlen Polytechnic at 7 a.m.?" Ignis asked as they flew through the dawn sky. " We just finished getting a base."

"Yeah, but I want to see the university. Besides, my zombies will hold the fort down for us," Grave said as he soared ahead of him.

Ignis sighed but followed regardless.

They flew through the night. Ignis was a bit concerned that his flaming wings probably stood out against the black sky. But Graves wasn't stopping. They flew all the way to the university, landing on the tallest building's roof.

That's when things turned pear-shaped. The collection of buildings that had once been a temple of learning had transformed into something a touch more familiar. Goblins and Orcs patrolled the campus with moonstone weapons and iron armor. Torches lit the area despite the fact that the lights seemed mostly intact. Humans sat in cages, and Ignis could already see the altar where they had been sacrificed. He doubted that any of the humans down there were aware of it. But that altar was an item.

Damned Altar of Bloody Sacrifice - (Rare)

Upon the altar of the damned, the victim's vital energy (Animas) will be improved and energized. This allows the user to get more animas or life force out of their victims when they are sacrificed.

"I want that." Graves said.

"Hold on a second," Ignis said, but it was too late.

Graves leaped down into the middle of a patrol of Orcs. His scythe flashed outwards, slicing open the six Orc necks with ease. The patrolling Orcs dropped to the ground, and then Graves cast a spell.

"Raise undead," Graves whispered.

All six orcs rose again as zombies.

"Let's start recruiting," Graves shouted. "Kill all the goblins."

Graves launched himself towards the altar, killing anything that came close to him before raising them as an undead.

Ignis signed he should have expected this. Dropping down to the human prisoners, Ignis allowed them to see the full glory of his wings. That's when the Troll walked out from behind the cells. Its grotesque, misshapen body was covered in matted hair and filth. With a guttural growl, it charged toward Ignis. It roared at him in rage before charging forward.

"This is perfect," Ignis muttered as he activated his newest skill.

[Scorched Fists] - Rare

For some people, punching someone with a fist of fire is their ultimate fantasy. Now, you, too, can touch upon that dream. Your fist now inflicts the [Burn] aliment whenever you punch an opponent. On top of that, your unarmed skill is treated at (Double) its current level. Warning: This effect does not count towards unlocking an additional skill bonus.

Increase your unarmed proficiency by 1.25% per level of this skill.

Increase your chance of inflicting [Burn] by 1% per level of this skill

[Scorched Fists] roared to life, and cinders orbited his arms as the heat around them increased.

He punched the Troll directly in its side, and the cinders flashed outwards, searing the troll's flesh as he struck the blow.

<[Scorched Fists] has Reached Level 2>

"I'm sorry, Mr. Troll, but I need a new training partner," Ignis said

The troll roared in rage as it punched him in the head. Ignis's [Living Flame] skill transformed his physical body into fire just before impact. The troll screamed as its fist burned within Ignis's fire form.

Ignis lashed out at the Troll again and again, and he just flashed to fire every time the troll tried to hit him. Even as the oppressive stench of the troll's filth clogged his nose, Ignis poured on the flames roasting the troll's flesh.

The ground shook under the troll's immense weight as it tried to kill him. Ignis narrowly avoided the troll's colossal fist. He landed a solid punch to the troll's side, and as his fiery fist connected, the troll's flesh sizzled and smoked. The troll roared in pain as Ignis's flames seared its skin.

At this point, its body was more burned flesh. Ignis decided to put the Troll out of its misery by firing a flame lance directly into its skull. The lance penetrated the troll's skull, and then it exploded, killing the troll instantly.

Ignis sighed. That had taken more mana than he would have preferred.

Ignis turned to the cell. Some feminist chick had taken advantage of the situation and was already trying to free people. No scratch. She was trying to free the women and ignoring the men. Of course, she wasn't making much progress, regardless.

Ignis walked over to the nearest cell and melted the lock off with a crafting spell. He then proceeded to unlock all three massive cages, much to the dismay of the feminist chick.

"For those of you who are sick of being stepped on by those in power. I offer you true power. The power to change your fate and become truly powerful. Head to the performing arts center. Head to our fortress against the monsters and join the [Apocalypse Force]." Ignis called out.

DING!!!

You have initiated the System Quest [To Glory!!!]

To Glory!!!

Found or Join a Guild. Gain levels and become powerful.

This quest was unlocked due to a player's action. The [Apocalypse Force] Guild location has been added to your map. If you don't have a map, you will be given directions.

He realized now that they might need to workshop that name. It didn't really work in an actual apocalypse, either.

Ignoring the awkwardness, Ignis turned and flew off after Graves. He noticed some people were already heading south towards the guild. That was good. Then Ignis found Graves. It wasn't good.

"Come out here and fucking fight!!" Graves roared as he blasted fireballs into the nearby buildings.

Arrows thick in ice mana flew out of the windows, impacting Graves over and over again. Graves wasn't close to dead, but it couldn't be pleasant. Then one of those arrows hit him. Ignis spasmed, as his elemental form provided no protection against the arrow. No, it wasn't an actual arrow—a chunk of ice shaped like an arrow.

Worse, more Orcs, Goblins, and Trolls were marching into the area, and spells started to rain down on both of them.

"Alright, Graves, it's time to go!!" Ignis shouted.

Graves didn't argue. Instead, his wings popped out of his back and shot up into the air. They flew as far away as they could, Graves's undead army chasing after them.

"Was that really necessary?!" Ignis asked as they flew … west. They had gotten all turned around in the fighting.

"I got the altar. If it wasn't for that fucking cryomancer, I could have taken this place." Graves spat.

"Was it really that bad?" Ignis asked

"That punk had levels in [Arcane Archer] and [Cryomancer]. I could have totally beaten him if he had come out and fought. But he stayed in stealth the entire time and just kept taking cheap shots," Graves muttered.

Ignis noticed the sun was rising far off in the distance.

"Well, come on. I just did some light recruiting, and I want to get back to base." Ignis was interrupted by a new notification.

DING!!!

The Beacon has been lit!!!

[Awoken Myths] have lit a beacon welcoming newcomers to their settlement [Hopkins].

This settlement offers a safe zone, a +10% bonus to XP gains, HP, and MP, and access to a skilled healer, making it the perfect refuge in these tumultuous times. But be careful: While settlement offers great security, none of these apply to your fellow man.

"Dude, other players. Let's go and see if they have any loot!!" Graves called out as he shot off at high speed.

"STOP!!! At least let your undead army catch up!!" Ignis called out as he chased after his friend.

You may skip to the next chapter.

Name: Ignis Vermilion

Race: Half-Orc

Type: Humanoid / Elemental

LVL: 12

SubRace: N/A

Age: 14

Health: 1020

Stamina: 1140

Mana: 960

Health Regen: 25.2 per min

Stamina Regen: 26.4 per min

Mana Regen: 22.2 per min

Titles: Beta-Tester, Pyromaniac, First, Apocalypse Force

Immune

Fire, Ageless

Resistances

Physical, Light, Air, Vitality 10%,

Weakness

Magic, Water, Dark, Earth, Soul 40%

Bane

Manslayer, Goblin Slayer, Elemental Slayer

Classes: Master Pyromancer 11, Fire Enhancer 1

Total

STR: 12

AGIL: 36

DEX: 12

CON: 96

END: 12

PER: 48

INT: 48

WILL: 66

SPIRIT: 156

EGO: 24

CHA: 12

LCK: 12

Base

STR: 12

AGIL: 36

DEX: 12

CON: 96

END: 12

PER: 48

INT: 48

WILL: 60 +10%

SPIRIT: 156

EGO: 24

CHA: 12

LCK: 12

Personal: +4 WILL, +4 SPIRIT, +3 INT, +3 PER

Racial: +3 SPIRIT +2 AGIL +2 CON +1 EGO

Bloodline: +5 CON +5 SPIRIT

Bloodline:

[Bloodline of the Vermilion Phoenix] - Legendary: The Bloodline of the Vermilion Phoenix grants you a profound connection to the mystical firebird, embodying its resilience, purity, and fiery power. This bloodline's effects make you a master of fire, capable of withstanding the most intense flames while harnessing them for your own benefit.

- [Fire Conasuir] - Level 16

- [Vermilion Guard] - Level 10

- [Purifying Flame] - Level 15

- [Regenerative Flames] - Level 30

- [Perfect Form] - Level 2

- [Burn Brightly] - Level 16

- [Wings of the Phoenix] - Level 19

- [Rise from the Ashes] - Level 1

- +5 CON per Level

- +5 SPIRIT per Level

Skill Slots: 15/60: Skill Points: 0

Personal Skills

- [Endless Brawler] - Level 14

- [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 6

- [Storage] - Level 10

- [Mapping] - Level 10 >> Level 17

- [System Wiki] - Level 7

- [Zen Master] - Level 14

Master Pyromancer 07/16

- [Art of Fire] - Level 22 >> Level 25

- [Consuming Fire] - Level 19 >> Level 21

- [Mana burn] - Level 20 >> Level 22

- [Funeral pyre] - Level 20 >> Level 21

- [Incinerat] - Level 20 >> Level 21

- Capstone: [Living Flame] - Level 15

- [Tempered Flame] - Level 1 >> Level 5

- [Reignition] - Level 1

Fire Enhancer 02/6

- [Scorched Fists] - Level 2 >> Level 9

- [Flash Fire Step] - Level 1