Everyone thought back on the first day of the tutorial. Adaptability was a cruel trait. It wasn’t long since they saw their kin being slaughtered at the hands of the monsters, yet now, they laughed and fought alongside the same trolls and ogres.

Their transformation from regular humans into 'players' was eerily smooth. Almost as if it was their destiny.

“On that day you learned about stats and the things called Level and Experience. Druv and Strongfist might’ve found this strange, but I’m sure none of you were unfamiliar with the terms,”

“Indeed,”

“I thought that this was a game at first,” Jacob added his thoughts after Kyle’s affirmation. And they weren’t the only ones who thought as such.

Perhaps millions of other humans also had the same thought, that this was just a sick joke or a mass hallucination caused by the arc of Noah’s AI. But now, all of them knew that this world was very much real.

“Almost a year has passed since that day. You are at the forefront of the current players, correct? Then tell me what you understand about the system. What exactly is a Level, Experience, and Achievement, and what is the purpose behind events like Crown Hunt and the Flag March?”

Zyrus knew that it was an unfair question. It was like asking a middle schooler to solve the third-degree integration.

Even veteran players in the fifth ring didn’t know the answers to these questions, much less the ones in front of him. Hack, even he was unaware of the truth despite his strength and position. He almost felt embarrassed about his title as a monarch.

“Are they related to mana? Humans or other races were unable to use the mana in this place, but leveling up allows that to happen.”

As expected from someone who pursued magic with all his heart, Jacob’s answer was within his expectations.

“The events are to groom either strong leaders or a strong army. Maybe both.” Ria answered after deliberation.

“I won’t comment for now, but these two are indeed easy to guess. What about the other terms?” Zyrus asked with raised brows.

He was by no means a great teacher, but his thousand years of experience wasn’t for nothing. It was unfair and stupid to expect perfection from your subordinates. Some excelled in certain areas while some were poor in certain aspects. It was a ruler’s job to identify their subjects’ traits and assign them to appropriate positions.

Kyle, Lauren, Shu kun, Druv, and Strongfist answered one by one. Shi kun talked about bloodline and evolution while Kyle thought that leveling up made them a higher dimensional being. Lauren, Druv, and Strongfist’s answers were nothing worth discussing, so he simply put them aside.

“Alright, now I’ll explain what they truly are,” Zyrus dusted his hands and walked towards the floating cube. While some might think that the conversation prior to this was merely a waste of time, he understood its importance.

‘They aren’t quite there yet, but they should be able to digest what I’m about to say,’

Dealing with ignorant people was easy, but dealing with people who refused to acknowledge their ignorance was difficult.

“Let’s start with experience, or exp for short. As I said before, the most complex answers are rather simple in nature. Exp is just that- experience. Experience of swinging your sword, experience of using a skill, experience of breathing, walking, eating, and sleeping. Even this act of listing as a form of experience,”

Zyrus waited for a moment and continued,

“Didn’t you think that your progress was too fast? How come millions of people learned skills like swordsmanship and archery in one week? Even if that could be attributed to their hobbies, how the hack did they learn magic? There must be a cause behind everything, no?”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“…”

“…”

“Isn’t it because of the system?” Ria replied after a bit of hesitation.

“True, but how does the system work then? If it had the almighty power to raise our strength then is there a need for events like crown hunt and flag march? They could just level up any random species and accomplish whatever goal they have,”

“Maybe they need to fulfill some conditions to give us powers, like ‘Achievements’.”

“Excellent answer,” Zyrus was genuinely surprised by Kyle’s words. Even he hadn’t figured that out before he got the ex-grade achievement. Though, he didn’t have someone who guided him in the right direction either.

“I was planning to explain about achievement next, but since you’ve answered it now, I’ll push it forward. It is indeed as you’ve said, the rewards given by the system are based on your actions which reflect as achievements. The sanctuary is fair, but even so, there exists ranks between the players. Why? Because you only get a fair opportunity. What you accomplish with them and what results you get are entirely up to you.”

Zyrus gulped down a mouthful of water as he waited for others to digest the information. Now, it was time to go to the crux of the question.

“There is always a cause and an effect. No one has the power of creation, at least no one that I know of. Our stats, experience, skills, and everything else given by the system must come from something.”

The others nodded as he continued his explanation.

“After the first week of the tutorial was over, the hum- no, the creatures in the first ring were divided into three categories. Firstly, the ones who were known as players, comprised of those who got an achievement, leveled up to 10, and created or learned a skill. Secondly, the ones who failed to meet one or more of those requirements- and are still trapped in the first ring.”

“Then came the crown hunt. Ten among the first bunch were given the golden crowns. Now, after establishing their own territory in the flag march, they can summon more players from the first ring. Naturally, they will be from the second bunch of players,”

This was something that everyone knew. Those present here were no exceptions.

“Thus remains the third part, those who died in the seven days. Or rather, those who are deemed dead by everyone else.” Zyrus spoke in a heavy tone as he pointed at the swirling fragments.

On the other side of the black-and-white portal were the scenes of the first ring. The same forest, the same tutorial zone, and lastly, the same people.

Ria and the others had a lot of questions at this moment, but no one dared to utter a word.

“As you can see, they’re going through the tutorial right now. After that will be the crown hunt. Naturally, those who died during our crown hunt will also partake at that time.”

And the same thing will happen for the flag march, and every event that comes after it. Zyrus didn’t say these words, nor did he need to.

“Befitting of the name 'Sanctuary', no one really died huh!”

“Is there no meaning to our work then?”

Shi kun and Jacob spoke one after another. Death was perhaps the greatest motivating factor for the players' hard work.

“It’s not that simple, is it?” Ria asked in a trembling tone. From the moment she first saw the scene, she knew that the fates of those on the other side were anything but pleasant. This place wasn’t a paradise. In her eyes, the thoughts of the other two were too naïve.

Zyrus chuckled at their reaction and spoke to Shi kun and Jacob,

“You’re grossly mistaken. They died and they’ll keep dying, over and over again. An endless loop of time, a futile struggle where their beginning and end are determined regardless of their actions.”

“What…do you mean?” Kyle asked although he had guessed the answer.

“Didn’t I ask you about what experience is? Here’s your answer. They’ll go through the same process we did in an endless loop. Even if they level up, even if they obtain a golden crown, everything will be reset in the end.”

The same thing was happening in all the rings. The fate of the losers was just that- becoming tools for farming exp.

When the players earned exp by killing a monster, they would obtain the fruits of thousands of people’s hard work. It wasn’t simply knowledge, what they received as exp was the essence of that particular art.

They would level up when that essence reached a certain threshold. By using the powers of the sanctuary’s laws, that essence would merge with their mind, body, and soul.

This was the reason behind their rapid rise to power.

They weren’t standing on the shoulders of the giants, no, they were standing on the mountain formed by the giants' corpses.

Everyone felt a heavy burden after hearing his words. They weren’t saints, each and every one of them had killed numerous players to reach their current position.

Still, they felt proud of their success. They were proud of their strength which led them to victory.

But now, the power gained by the stats and levels felt cruel and heavy. And this wasn’t the worst of what they were feeling.

“Then are we the same? How can you say that this is the first time we’re doing this?”

Lauren’s words summarized their existential crisis at that moment. What if they were trapped in a loop of time as well?