King continued his journey east toward Barlan's spawn point, the horse's hooves clattering against the cracked asphalt as the city gradually thinned out behind him. The urban world gave way to open stretches of land, empty fields, abandoned gas stations, skeletal trees stripped bare by winter.
He pulled out his phone mid-ride, tapping into the messaging interface.
KING: Hey. You good?
The reply came a few seconds later.
VI: Yeah, I'm okay.
VI: Finally found the courage to step out. I'm trying to grab some early powerups.
King raised an eyebrow. She was already moving. That was good, although the outside world was riskier.
KING: Nice, The outside world though, I'm sure you know better than to not trust anyone?.
VI: Lol, yeah I know.
KING: So what class are you on.
VI: Support class, I'm just trying to survive around here.
KING: Smart choice fr.
KING: Stay safe though.
VI: Awnn, you worried about me?
KING: Lmao, wouldn't want to botch my first save now would I?.
VI: Sure, Superman.
King smirked and closed the chat, nudging the horse forward.
_______
After traveling for an hour, he was finally arriving at the location. He could notice the gradual change, as if the topography was shifting.
What had once been a stretch of normal countryside, dry grass, dirt roads, the occasional farmhouse, was now warping. The ground had changed from real, to illusionary, as if reality itself was being overwritten.
Trees that hadn't existed before sprouted from the earth, stone pillars jutted up from the soil.
Overlays from the game were crawling into their reality.
King arrived, and dismounted slowly, scanning the area.
It was empty at the moment, Barlan himself hadn't spawned yet.
He found a spot beneath one of the newly formed trees and sat down, tying the horse's reins to a low branch. The animal snorted nervously, pawing at the ground, but King stroked its neck until it calmed.
While he waited, he opened his interface.
Using the free time to review his loadout.
______________
CHARACTER DETAILS
NAME: King
RACE: Human
SKILL: God's Hand: 100x Reward (SSS)
CLASS: Mage
RANK: F
LEVEL: 1
ITEMS:
-Grand Magus Oathcloak
-Basic Construct Spelbook
-Arcbearer's Hello
ABILITIES:
_____________________
STATS
Strength: 10
Speed: 10
Mind: 10
Constitution: 10
____________________
HP: 100
MP: 100 (+100)
Runes: 87,000
________________
King's eyes moved to the new items he'd purchased.
First, the Grand Magus Oathcloak.
He tapped [EQUIP].
The cloak materialized around his shoulders, flowing down his back in layers of deep black fabric edged with silver thread. It was lighter than it looked, almost weightless, and as it settled into place, King felt the change immediately.
His body felt sharper, his thoughts clearer and his mana reserve had increased.
He checked his stats.
Speed: 10 (+5)
Mind: 10 (+10)
Good, it was exactly as advertised.
Next, he opened the Basic Construct Spell Book.
The interface expanded, displaying the spell's details.
_____________
[BASIC CONSTRUCT SPELL]
RANK: C
DESCRIPTION: Create several mana-based 2D constructs. Constructs can take various forms and serve offensive, defensive, or utility purposes. Scales directly to your Mind stat.
REQUIREMENT: 10 Mind
[LEARN]
_____________
King tapped LEARN.
His body flushed with a refreshing white light, spreading from his chest outward to his fingertips. The knowledge flooded into him, not just in theory, but the feeling of how to shape mana, how to will it into form, and how to sustain it.
[SPELL LEARNED]
King exhaled slowly, flexing his fingers. He could feel the spell now, nested in his core, ready to be used.
He checked his remaining runes.
RUNES: 87,000
Still quite a lot left.
He navigated to the LEVEL UP tab.
_________________
LEVEL 1
STATS
Strength: 10
Speed: 10 (+5 )
Mind: 10 (+10 )
Constitution: 10
COST TO LEVEL 2: 2,000 Runes
_____________________
The cost increased by 1,000 runes per level. Exactly as it had been in his original playthroughs. And with each level, you gained 10 stat points to distribute.
King didn't hesitate.
He leveled up straight to Level 10.
The rune cost stacked quickly...
2,000 for Level 2, 3,000 for Level 3, 4,000 for Level 4, and so on. By the time he hit Level 10, it had cost him 54,000 runes in total.
RUNES REMAINING: 33,000
But the payoff was immediate, he now had 90 stat points to distribute.
King allocated them strategically:
+20 to Strength
+20 to Speed
+20 to Constitution
+30 to Mind
He wanted a balanced hybrid build, strong enough to survive melee encounters, fast enough to dodge, durable enough to take hits, and intelligent enough to maximize his spellcasting.
The moment he confirmed the allocation, his body changed.
Muscle tightened across his arms and chest. His posture became perfectly erect. His breathing deepened. He felt a whole lot lighter, despite the added muscle mass.
He felt healthier, stronger. His senses sharpened. He could hear the faint rustle of leaves in the distance, see details in the bark of the tree above him that he wouldn't have noticed before.
"So this is how the characters felt, in game" King muttered, clenching and unclenching his fists.
It was surreal. He'd spent years controlling avatars with these stats, but feeling them in his own body was something else entirely.
He was still caught in the moment of flexing and stretching when a mist began to creep into the environment.
It was slow at first, wisps of gray fog curling between the trees, rolling across the ground. Then the temperature dropped.
King's horse neighed sharply, wriggling uncomfortably, its eyes wide with panic.
King immediately grabbed the reins, steadying the animal with a firm hand.
"Easy, there girl" he whispered.
But his eyes were locked on the direction the mist came from.
He could spot a figure emerging from the growing fog.
Tall and slender, but humanoid.
The figure was cloaked in a long, tattered black robe with a deep hood that completely shrouded the head. The face was barely visible beneath the shadow, pale, and almost mask-like, with a hollow, eerie expression that seemed frozen in time.
Strapped to the figure's chest were brown leather belts with heavy buckles, securing a massive coffin-like box horizontally to his back. The coffin was enormous, it's full length was the same height as the man himself. Made of dark, aged wood and reinforced with thick black metal bands. A large lock mechanism adorned the front.
Yet the man carried it effortlessly, as if it weighed nothing, dragging it through the mist like a traveler burdened by fate.
King's pulse quickened.
No doubt.
That was Barlan the Arcbearer.
King dismounted quickly and rushed forward.
As he approached, he could hear Barlan muttering to himself, his voice low, raspy and , fragmented.
"The task… yes, the task…"
"Cursed be the Gods… they have forsaken…"
He paused.
And turned.
His hooded face tilted toward King, who was now within proximity.
"Lost, are we?" Barlan asked. His voice was hollow.
King didn't answer immediately. Instead, he opened his inventory and tapped on the emote.
[ARCBEARER'S HELLO]
[USE] ..tap
Immediately, a unique glow encompassed King's palms. Soft, whitish and cold. His hands moved instinctively, his fingers interlocking in a specific pattern to form a seal, palms facing each other as if making a prayer, while his index and middle finger crossed each other in a firm lock.
Barlan stopped first.
And then...
He mirrored the gesture.
His hands moved beneath the tattered sleeves, forming the exact same seal.
"Good to see you, brother," Barlan said, his tone shifting. There was recognition now, as if he'd known King for years.
King's gave a subtle smile, his trial in game had worked perfectly in reality.
Barlan lowered his hands, his hollow gaze still fixed on King.
"So, brother, thank the stars I found you… might you help me with a little something?"
________
The options appeared in King's HUD.
[YES / NO]
King didn't hesitate.
He tapped [YES].
Barlan's lips curled into the faintest hint of a smile.
"Good."