1
“Hey hey hey hey hey! Hey! Anyone there?” Enter yelled into the darkness of the forest. The menu he had grown used to like a 6th sense was no longer there for him to pull up, he called out in the hopes that the proximity voice chat… no, was that even a thing anymore?
There was only silence and the flight of birds startled by his outcry… But that was more than enough. “Birds…? and my voice?” Enter hummed the music from the loading rooms in Yggdrasil, testing the sounds that came out… A lapse in thought as the shock of the surroundings changing started to settle, his voice was not the one he had grown used to, rather it was almost like a choir. Sounding like no one person in particular was a strange experience… and what’s more… that constant pang of hunger in his stomach was gone…
While a Dive game could inhibit your real sensations to an extent, for users safety it was not entirely effective, many times Enter had attempted to curb his hunger by playing Yggdrasil, even resorting to eating the food in-game rather than eating in real life, which only served to make his hunger grow… Yet now that was gone, and what’s more is that the birds in this forest were not hostile… they even appeared to be real, as was the dear he cut down mere moments before. In Yggdrasil someone of Enter’s level would rarely be able to find such low level and weak creatures, even when traveling to a new world, high level players always stuck to the high level zones, especially heteromorphs like Enter, they would even be barred from entering most player hubs and cities, only being able to find shelter in guild bases. All of these violations, the sensation he felt in his hands, the smell of the forest and the blood which had long since burnt off his armor, the weak creatures and strange setting…
This couldn’t be real life, and yet, it was. The sites that Enter would have never been able to see in the real world, even inside of bio-domes there weren’t nearly this beautiful, even the rich had to stare up at a fake night sky… and yet…
“Here I am, the luckiest man in the world…” Chen Guorong, now Enter Name was in this moment, completely free. Whether this was a hallucination in the moments before his death, or truly a new world he was brought to, he decided that he would enjoy it to his fullest…
Though the world was lucky too… for Chen was not a hard man to please…
2
When taking this new reality into consideration, the freedom he felt was only second to the fear of the unknown, if the creatures here were weak, what’s to say the rest of them were at the same level. Enter, in his surprise had slain a creature of this world and effectively flattened the entire forest, in Yggdrasil, even trees had levels and ‘HP’ and not using the proper tools meant heavily reduced damage, this helped establish the level of the area more, but also meant he was completely out in the open, if someone were to attack now he would have little means of defending himself… Unless he used his world item to run away….
But it was too early to use that, for one, he still did not know how he got here, if this was still an illusion after all this time, or he was summoned by someone looking to trap and kill him, there wasn’t much he could do. Enter decided to use his normal walking speed to reach the edge of the damage caused by his skills, that being his [Horizon Slash], the signature skill of his divine tier weapon. Due to the backing of the developers and the fact that there were only 3 members of the guild that actually raided, all three of them were outfitted with divine tier or higher gear. Enter’s scythe having the highest data capacity of all the non-guild or world items they possessed, it was a marvel of craftsmanship even in the game, although there may have been other divine tier items hidden in the game with a higher data capacity, he had not seen one in all his years playing.
The skill itself was the secret to his amazing crowd control ability, an attack that would grow in size and damage for each kill scored by it, few spells or weapons were able to replicate the sort of effect it had, making it a truly one-of-a-kind item. The problem was that it was simply too obvious of a skill, not only had he accidentally cleared a huge part of this forest, the slashing magic from the skill was so unique that he couldn’t reliably remain stealthy while using it. Due to the classes he had picked up he did have access to a few spells, but nothing that could conceal his presence, after all Enter was meant to take the attention of mob monsters. Even the physical appearance of his character was flashy and bright, being an angel, along with the huge frame provided by his armor… The final nail in the coffin was Enter’s personal hangups, even in a disorienting situation like this he did not want to sully his body with dirt or leaves to conceal himself.
The most that was available to him was the next line of trees over, possibly the same forest, but without knowing where he is he couldn’t walk into it expecting it to be the same level. Enter used a slow flying speed to reach the trees, staying low to the ground in an attempt to still remain hidden. Even at the height of caution, you could not prepare for everything or dodge every attack, Enter’s hp stat was not the highest, but he was confident that no one attack could take him out in one hit, even if it managed to severely wound him he would use his world item to escape, that is how he engaged in PK battles in Yggdrasil. The idea of a threat more powerful than he could handle was hard to comprehend, preparation was necessary for any battle in Yggdrasil, there were often times where lower level gear was stronger in certain situations, though the set he had on at the moment aught to cover most of the bases.
Without any incidents, Enter made it to the trees and hid himself in the densest spot he could find, small animals scurried away in his presence, he had plenty of aura skills, but none that caused fear, so the reaction was just more proof that this was reality… Though, a thought struck him. Was he alone?
Enter took a moment to think about it, the last moments he could remember in the game were spend outside with that demon who worked at the same guild as him, what’s to say she isn’t in the same situation? If it worked the same for her, she should have Arthur’s world item, capable of reaching the ears of every player in the world, while Yggdrasil had nine worlds… but then that would mean they were sent to the same world, what if she had been sent to another world. One choice would be to immediately use the item to attempt to contact allies, but if there were enemies, they would be just as aware of your presence… In this situation Enter would use the special callouts the raid team used, but as she was only staff he couldn’t be sure she knew them. Considering she did not use the item immediately, she could have chosen to wait till she was desperate to use the item, or… the possibility still exists that she did not travel to the same world. They were only a few meters from each other at the moment of the displacement, but that did not usually mater, Enter vividly remembered a teleportation trap in another guild’s base that did something similar, placing everyone on a circle in a different room, meant to separate teams and take them out one by one.
Such a devious trap was usually only used by evil guilds, though Enter’s build perfectly countered such traps in most scenarios, the last time he could recall it happening he was swarmed by an insectoid summoner after teleporting, which was the class he had the easiest time PKing. His effectiveness as a combatant depended on the amount of enemies in a fight, the more the better, if the opponent was a summoner they were practically feeding him resources as well as sources of damage. And that particular summoner was well below his level, it’s safe to say that fight was very one sided, even against a level 100 summoner Enter was confident in being able to take them out without issue. Though, practically speaking, that was the only archetype that he was strong against, any build that was competent in magic or melee would be able to defeat him 7 out of 10 times, that is if he didn’t use his world item, in which case the scales would flip. Though that came with its own dangers, if he lost, that would mean that the world item was likely to fall into enemy hands, so he stuck to only using it in raids. Though, when he was performing upkeep on the base he would keep it on him, it was the one world item with the strongest movement capabilities, so it made retreating with it easy, even if he were to lose a PK battle with it on he would be able to move away and unequip it before losing.
Still, if this was an elaborate trap by another player, they would have done something by now, set up mines in the surrounding area, and gotten rid of all the weak monsters in the area. Yet neither of those were true, either the enemy was extremely unprepared, or there was no enemy… While the second option seemed more likely, there wasn’t anything to say he had already been put in a disadvantageous position, there were certainly items that could trap you in an illusion, or even classes that specialized in that method of trapping. But to create an illusion this elaborate, it would require a world item, or a guild weapon specialized for it, or… a combination of classes that Enter was simply unaware of. Going forward for this idea, Enter decided to wait… and wait…
3
One week has passed since Enter was born into this world, taking into account that he hasn’t been attacked yet, he determined that this area was safe, much of the creatures around the forest were weak, the strongest one he saw, by his estimates was level 10. Going through live as his character was jarring at first, especially without a menu, but after only a few days it already felt like second nature, it was safe to say that most people who played Yggdrasil did so at every opportunity, there was nothing in real life that could compare, so Enter wasn’t special in his dedication to the game, still the thought that he could become his character so easily gave him an indescribable feeling. This revelation also came with the knowledge that his regular abilities and host of skills was able to be used through simple thought and motions, and the few spells he had access to were used with speech and motions, in a sense he had become one with the menu. There was now no part of Enter’s character that he couldn’t use, it would now be more accurate to say that is is his body now.
Living this new life brought Enter unparalleled joy, he had never once imagined a reality where he would live in Yggdrasil, for how much he played the game he would not want to live in it, the worlds were hostile and some parts were so complicated that one person could’t hope to figure it out, not to mention the other players, as an angel he didn’t have as much discrimination for being a heteromorph, but there were still no penalties when other players PKed him. Only, in the short time he has been in this world he could tell it was different, it was the freedom he always wanted, no threat to him had reared its head, and there was no need to eat in this new body, it was practically paradise.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Something was still missing though.
“Where the hell are the other people?”
Just as Enter said, he hadn’t seen another person since he came to this world, it would be one thing if there were no creatures as well, but this forest seemed to be full of life, just nothing he could communicate with. That level 10 creature seemed like the most intelligent creature in this forest, yet it still attempted to fight Enter, resulting in its immediate death. Enter valued his privacy as much as the next person, but a world where he was completely alone would be far too boring, it was just his luck that he began to pick up strange movements lately. While he had no skill in detection, the mask item he wore gave him something like a HUD (heads up display) even outside of the game. It was a crucial part of his job as crowd control to have precise numbers of the number of creatures, their locations, and some basic stats. The item on its own wasn’t considered good as a divination item due to its limited range, but for Enter it was perfect.
The mask had recently been showing some creatures entering and exiting the range at strange intervals, as well as making movements that imply some sort of intelligence, though it’s impossible to tell what type of creature it is. Enter hoped it was something nice looking, like a human or elf.
Taking this into account he didn’t feel the need to go out in search of others, it seemed like they were going to find him eventually. Might as well make himself presentable…
4
One month has passed since Enter was born into this world, in that time he was confident that he was neither being trapped nor hunted, whatever happened to him was a coincidence, a natural disaster, or some kind of magic. Though, through his experiments with the creatures of this world, if that demon was transported to a similar area she would have a much harder time, the difference between being level 100 and level 5 was astronomical, levels in Yggdrasil were exponential, the difference between a level 90 and level 100 player was much greater than the difference between a level 10 and level 20 player. Enter felt thankful that he prepared his character the most he could before something like this happened, even if he didn’t exactly plan on it.
What’s more, is that it was finally time for him to see what these intelligent creatures that had been trying to hide from him looked like, he had a few close calls in the last few days, as they almost ran into him. Enter was known even in Yggdrasil for being eccentric, and becoming a powerful creature in another world only heightened that aspect, he wanted to appear his best in front of these creatures, he couldn’t be completely sure of their levels but they were much lower than he was if he was able to evade them as easily as he did. “Ah that’s the last piece!” He picked a tusk out of a boar, placing it in his inventory; a limited space he could put items into while they were not worn or carried, working like a crack in space to a pocket dimension whenever he focused on it. He hummed to himself as he glided back to his cave he had been staying in, he decided it was the place that he would greet them, he couldn’t tell for sure if they were friendly, or if they were trying to launch a sneak attack on him, but either way he would decide how to deal with them once he saw what they looked like.
Enter carefully placed the newly found tusk into it’s place, completing the rough shape of a hand on the arm of a chair, or more specifically a throne… A throne made out of the remains of various animals he had been hunting in the month since he had arrived here, by all respects it was well made, but it had taken him a few tries to get it to stand upright at first, as well as the occasional creature in the forest knocking it over. Enter had stored his scythe in his inventory for a while now, it could still be used when he needed it, but it was simply too destructive to use when hunting, or he would have another incident like when he first arrived. Satisfied with the construction, Enter sat on the throne, being careful as to not put his full weight on it, despite his physical body being small, the equipment he wore effectively made him several times the size of the average human, the extra arms and wings also added to that weight, in Yggdrasil weight wasn’t very important, and angels were supposed to be one of the lightest creatures, it was just a result of Enter’s particular build that he ended up like this. Among the raid party he was the second fastest despite the weight, but when counting his world item he far exceeded any other player.
With his pose decided on, he pulled his scythe out of storage, if this meeting lead to combat it would be the quickest way to deal with a threat, and if it didn’t well… “Hmm, money well spent…” Enter spent quite a lot of money on Yggdrasil cash shop items, his most bought items though, were usually cosmetic, he had spent a considerable amount on this scythe to get it to look just how he wanted it. It was oversized and had two blades that made two half circles on either side of the pole, the faint glow around it made it look like an angels halo, thus it was dubbed the Halo Scythe. Coincidentally he did not come up with the name himself, Arthur was the one who named it, having a problem with his lazy naming scheme.
It didn’t take long at all for the blips in his vision to grow closer, attempting to use trees for cover, unaware that he could track their locations, by the mask’s count there was about 30 in total. He wondered just what exactly could be on the other side of those trees, humans in full tactical gear?, a pack of elves with bows drawn?, maybe just some knights of ambiguous race that all turned out to be beautiful under the armor…
As Enter was thoroughly daydreaming, he failed to notice that he had been surrounded, at least on the sides outside of the cave. He looked down to take in all the features…
Bulging eyes, bodies covered in fur and mud, flowing horns curling into strange shapes at the ends, a powerful jaw full of gnarly teeth which they were flashing, crude outfits made of animal hide and metal plates, not one of them looking like they’ve seen the inside of a shower…
“Are you kidding me?” Enter audibly sighed, the sorry state of these creatures made him want to just kill them all, though that voice in the back of his head reminded him that this was no longer a game, it was likely that he would need to restrain himself, that being said… he couldn’t help but display his disappointment. “The least you could do is make yourselves presentable, if you’re here for a fight I’ll make it quick.” He began to brandish his scythe, tracing one hand over the blade until he made one full rotation…
”W-Wait! G-Great one!- we b-beseech your help!” The one at the front spoke… looking at them, they were fairly humanoid, but it was clear they were some form of demi-human, outside of a few exceptions, none of the demi-human races met Enter’s standard of beauty. He didn’t want to hear out their request in the least… but they all started groveling, throwing gold at his feet and dropping their weapons, it would be rude to kill them now, but he wasn’t some kind of honor-less monster, or at least he believed that he wasn’t… Truthfully all those years of being held back by his guild members from attacking anyone with an ugly character had softened him, when he first started the game it was usually on sight, his sheer game skill being the only reason he wasn’t stuck at level one being killed by others. Though after the general level of the playerbase increased Enter would have been left in the dust if he did not get picked up by the company. While musing about his past he realized that they were waiting for his response…
If he had to analyze the situation it seemed like the one at the front who was kneeling the lowest was the leader, it was hard to read the emotions on their faces, but judging by the fact that none of the others had dropped their weapons they were not entirely on bored with their ‘leaders’ plan. Yet they still followed, perhaps they were desperate enough to throw away pride… if that was true then the ‘offerings’ they presented were likely all they had, if he attacked now they would likely still resist though. Enter didn’t like the idea of selling his services for some some lumpy, misshapen gold, he wouldn’t outright kill them but he had no problem with leaving them to die.
“It seems that we can speak the same language, what is it that you want?” Enter spoke, still enjoying his new beautiful voice, after he put all this effort into making a throne he felt like he had the right to make demands, after all, it was clear to both him and these creatures that he was the more powerful party in this relationship. The leader must have been smarter than the rest, against a more powerful creature that can be reasoned with you must make every attempt to get in its good favors, part of him wanted to kill everyone except the leader to show his appreciation, but there would be no killing yet…
“P-Please defeat our enemies! The other Bafolk that seek to prolong this conflict!” Enter looked over the faces of the others, none of them seemed to react to that information so it was probably nothing new to them. Enter could get a grasp of the situation just from this, one being the name of these creatures, Bafolk weren’t a race that existed in Yggdrasil, but they undoubtedly exhibited characteristics of a demi-human race, unless he existed on a different axis than those of this world it would stand to reason that tactics against demi-humans would work the same against them. The second part is that they are in conflict, but even if this is the lowest ranks of their military a showing like this is sorry, the level of technology in this world would be incredibly low. The last piece of information was in the language it used, ‘other Bafolk’ and ‘prolong this conflict’ was different than ‘other people’ and ‘attack us’ meaning that Bafolk weren’t the only creatures around, and that this conflict likely didn’t start with them…
“Conflict with who?” So Enter had to make sure this was worth his time, depending on the leaders answer he would decide if helping them was worth his time. “Th-They wish to fight the humans of the Dragon Kingdom! They say we will win, but we have experienced too many losses! We will be too weak after to remain in power!” At the mention of humans Enter raised an eyebrow, though due to the many layers of armor it wasn’t visible. There were ugly humans sure, but any human was more beautiful than one of these, and so he made his decision…
“Just to be clear, if I help you, you are to make peace with the humans after.” Enter spoke his terms, he was interested in the humans of this world. It was a weight off his shoulders to find that humans did indeed exist, he would deal with whatever ugly creatures these enemies would be to find himself in a lavish human palace with the most beautiful specimens in the region. Truth be told, most people in the guild that saw his obsession with beauty as creepy at first, but after years of dealing it became clear that there was no sexual motivation behind it, in fact he saw people more like objects. Even among those who called the raid party inhuman monsters, few knew just how dangerous his view of the world was, what was seen as a harmless quirk to some was in fact the linchpin to his day to day functioning, if he did not surround himself with beauty he would slowly go crazy.
“After what?” The Bafolk leader was confused by Enter’s statement, finally lifting his head to look at the angel. Gleaming body, heavy armor, large weapon, the Bafolk was sure that this creature was a God, or at least something close, there was no explanation as to how it had eluded them for this long, seeming to disappear right when they believed they had found it or seen it… Not only that, but it had just promised to make peace with the humans, an impossible dream that some elder Bafolk have held…
“After I kill every other one of you, those enemies you spoke of.” As it just declared that it would slay the millions of Bafolk that had been raiding the Dragon Kingdom….
