Wayne sneezed several times in the net cafe that afternoon. Looking at the yellowing leaves outside, he figured he had caught a cold.
The net cafe was a brick-and-wood structure, which didn't hold heat well. He wondered if he could buy an air conditioner from the vending machine to stay warm in winter and cool in summer.
Aside from those thoughts, he spent his time watching the 8-player match. It was quite interesting, reminiscent of watching streamers back before he crossed over into this world.
Despite varying skill levels and strategies, the 8-player brawl was brutal.
Hicks, Virdan, and Hudson, who all chose the Necropolis faction, had each acquired one of the three treasures needed to form the Cloak of the Undead King. Since this was a free-for-all, the three were constantly plotting against each other. Each wanted to eliminate the others to complete the divine artifact, which would allow them to convert endless hordes of Liches and dominate the game.
Old Marshal McBride and Verie still didn't fully grasp the game's economic system, but their tactical command of the Castle's troops was professional. Flanking maneuvers, kiting, baiting counterattacks and spells, and feigning tactical intent—the skills they used in real combat translated perfectly into the virtual reality of the game.
Amy and Jaina remained as non-combative as ever. Winning or losing seemed irrelevant to them. They were more interested in testing every spell learned from the Mage Guild, trying to reverse-engineer the principles of magic through the casting process.
Andromath, meanwhile, was obsessed with the "Hit and Run" tactic. His hero led a group of Black Dragons—Level 7 units from the Dungeon faction that were immune to all magic. He used this advantage to chase others across the map.
Anyone who encountered him chose to surrender immediately. Since he didn't have many dragons yet, the surrender fee was cheap. They could simply re-hire their heroes at the tavern. However, those who tried to fight ended up being scorched by his Armageddon spell for several rounds, suffering devastating losses to their armies.
When Wayne had first played Heroes of Might and Magic III as a child, this was already a classic, albeit "dirty," strategy.
As evening approached and the group prepared to leave, Marshal McBride expressed great satisfaction with the battles, especially against the three Necropolis players. He even remarked that if the old King were still here, he would surely have all high-ranking generals come to experience this.
Verie informed Wayne that an important figure would be visiting the net cafe tomorrow and told him not to oversleep.
After everyone left, Wayne played Monster Hunter G for a while. However, he was exhausted before 10:00 PM, having woken up before 7:00 AM to unlock the new game.
Leaving Tess to finish her movie, Wayne went to his room to sleep early.
He didn't know how much time had passed when he blearily opened his eyes. He found himself in a massive graveyard. Tombstones were scattered everywhere; some were intact, but many graves were burst open, clearly indicating something had crawled out from beneath the earth. The Ghouls nearby, dripping with putrid ichor as they searched for prey, confirmed his suspicions.
Seeing this, he wanted to scream in terror, but he couldn't feel his body and couldn't make a sound.
After confirming that the undead creatures couldn't see him, he relaxed slightly and observed his surroundings. A skeleton wearing a horned helm and rusted armor appeared in his field of vision. The two-handed sword in its hand, glowing with a golden light, was incredibly conspicuous in the dark night.
"Morladim..."
Even though the reality was slightly different from the game, Wayne recognized this elite monster immediately—the one who had slaughtered countless low-level players.
Am I in Raven's Hill? he wondered.
Immediately, he saw a massive Abomination wandering the road in the distance...
He blinked, and the scene changed again. He was in a dim, tiered classroom. The people sitting around him were men and women, but their bodies were translucent... they were ghosts.
A figure dressed in robes and a cowled hood walked in. The hood and shoulders were decorated with many sharp, vertical spikes. Wayne recognized him the moment he saw the two-horned skull staff in his hand.
"Class is in session!"
It was Darkmaster Gandling!
Just then, he noticed Gandling's gaze turn toward him. The master let out a suspicious "Hmm?"
Crap! Wayne cursed inwardly, but he still couldn't move.
A bolt of black light gathered on Gandling's staff and flew toward him. Wayne screamed silently, blinked, and the scene changed once more.
He was in a room with a red magic circle on the floor and a cage in the corner. Piles of white bones were stacked against the walls like small mountains.
He saw a Death Knight riding an undead warhorse, holding a jagged, white-edged red sword. The knight was speaking to "him." Wayne didn't even need to think to know this was Baron Rivendare, the boss countless players had farmed for his mount.
The Baron's speech stopped abruptly. He shouted in surprise, "Who is there?!" and swung his blade down toward Wayne.
Wayne was being tortured by these shifts, but the journey wasn't over. An even more "thrilling" scene appeared.
He opened his eyes again and found himself in the middle of a circular hall. Outside the hall was a curved corridor leading to another hall, where the bones of a skeletal dragon lay scattered.
"Naxxramas! The Upper Quarter!"
Before Wayne could process his shock, a black portal appeared. A man wearing undead plate armor and the Helm of Domination, wielding Frostmourne—a man hated and feared by millions—stepped out from behind the portal.
In the next second, "Wayne" began to speak:
"All preparations are proceeding according to plan, my master."
The Lich King was clearly satisfied. "Your loyalty has been exemplary. Soon, everyone will serve the Lich King. In the end, you will be rewarded—provided you do not fail along the way."
Hearing this dialogue and seeing his surroundings, Wayne realized he was possessing the body of Kel'Thuzad!
Then, "he" spoke again: "Currently, I do not believe there are any obstacles... wait, what is this?!"
The Lich King roared, "Your vision has been compromised! Fool! Deal with it immediately!"
Kel'Thuzad shouted, "Yes, master!" and his entire body transformed into an ice tomb. Wayne "closed his eyes" once more.
When he woke up again, he was lying in his bed, soaked in sweat as if he had suffered a major illness. His heart was racing, and his limbs felt weak. It didn't feel like he had slept at all.
He struggled out of bed and saw it was already 1:00 PM. Usually, someone would have called him by now. What happened today?
He washed up quickly, though his head was still spinning, and walked slowly toward the net cafe.
"Lazy boss, you're finally awake?"
Tess, sitting on the steps of the net cafe, stood up immediately. After her initial "scolding," her expression turned to concern. "Boss, you look terrible..."
Wayne thought to himself that after a night of nightmares that nearly scared him to death, it would be strange if he looked good.
Hearing their conversation, a man and a woman stood up inside the building and walked toward him.
Tess introduced them, "These two are new customers!" She pulled Wayne over and whispered, "They've already paid 13 gold each!"
Wayne thought that sounded right—5 gold for membership and 8 gold for a day pass. At the same time, he noticed the tabards on their chests and knew they served the "Argent Dawn."
This was an organization born from the Highlord and former Ashbringer, Alexandros Mograine's crusade. Like the Scarlet Crusade, they fought the Scourge in the Plaguelands, but they were far less extreme and fanatical. Although they were closer to the Alliance, they remained a neutral organization with members from various Horde races.
The woman spoke first, "Hello, I am Officer Pureheart of the Argent Dawn. My post is near the western shore of Lake Darrowmere..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Wayne saw the man named Tyrosus look at him. His expression shifted from polite to suspicious, and then to horror. He interrupted Pureheart: "Wait!"
He stepped forward and carefully observed Wayne's bloodshot eyes. "Young man, you seem to have seen something... unusual. I think we need to have a serious talk."