Chapter 1 Rael Voss

He blinked once, then twice. His eyes strained to process his brand-new surroundings. Instead of the familiar sight of his cramped, messy apartment, he woke up in a vast, unfamiliar expanse. As his gaze swept across the scenery, his breath caught in his throat. Hovering in the distance were massive, monolithic stones, floating serenely in the open air.

He turned his head sharply to the left and right, his heart hammering violently against his ribs. Near the center of the massive floating arena stood a grand, empty throne.

Realization hit him like a physical blow, leaving his head ringing.

"Impossible," he muttered, his voice trembling with deep doubt.

This place... it looked exactly like a colossal arena floating in the sky, right on the boundary where the deep blue atmosphere met the endless darkness of outer space. Without a doubt, this was the Zenith of the Void, the final raid boss arena of the legendary MMORPG, Echoes Of Eternity. It was the home of Nul’Azareth, the god who ended ages. This was the exact place where he had soloed the boss and gained the prestigious, ultra-rare title The One Man Army.

It was a unique title awarded directly by the developers themselves. At that time, the game had already shut down its official online servers, transitioning into a stagnant, offline single-player mode. The development team had long moved on to launch their highly anticipated, graphically superior sequel, Boundless Zenith.

But he had refused to migrate. He had invested far too much time, sacrificed too much money, and most importantly, the new sequel completely omitted his favorite class; the Summoner. Luckily, the developers didn't completely delete the old game's data, though they were too lazy to re-balance the boss mechanics for offline solo players. Every boss remained a massive raid boss designed for a coordinated 40-man party, where multiple high-tier guilds usually had to form alliances just to defeat one. Soloing them wasn't just difficult; it was a statistical nightmare.

Yet, he didn't complain. He was just grateful the game still existed. Left entirely alone after his friends and guildmates deserted the dying world for the shiny new sequel, he began to adapt. Since Echoes of Eternity had no level cap, he took a massive gamble. He picked up a secondary class, Battlemage, which drastically slowed down his leveling speed.

He spent countless, grueling hours grinding his character level and his summons. Eventually, his secondary class evolved from Battlemage into a supreme Battle Archmage. As for his Summoner class, he thought he had already reached the absolute peak, but he discovered a hidden evolution pathway: progressing from Sovereign Summoner into a Primordial Summoner after successfully strengthening his beasts into primordial grade.

Even a single primordial-grade summon wasn't enough to dent the final boss. So, he ground the levels again and created seven primordial-grade summons in total, the absolute maximum capacity his body could maintain to summon it to fight since summoner can only summon six summon but can save many summons.

It had been a grueling, lonely cycle. Wake up, go to work, play the game, sleep, and repeat. At thirty years old, he was a lonely man. He had no family, no lover, and worked a dead-end job with wages just enough to support his meager lifestyle. Of course, deep down, he longed for a relationship. But he was brutally self-aware; in this harsh economy, he knew starting a romance would only end badly for both him and his partner. So, he chose isolation, hiding a faint glimmer of hope deep within his chest.

But then, everything changed.

When he finally defeated Nul'Azareth completely solo and posted the victory video online, the internet exploded. Nostalgic veterans flooded his posts with likes and emotional comments. The viral phenomenon eventually caught the attention of the game's original developers, who officially granted his character the game's most broken, legendary title:

[The One Man Army]

Effect: Allows the user to call summons infinitely without any mana cost or cooldown.

Seizing the viral momentum, he quickly launched his own YouTube channel. Fame and many subs landed on his lap instantly. For the first time in his gray, miserable life, he felt the winds of change. He truly thought his reality was finally turning around.

But fate had other plans.

Recalling his past life, a sudden surge of anger rushed through him. He fiercely smashed the ground with both of his hands. The impact was massive, leaving large, deep cracks in the stone floor, accompanied by a deafening boom.

Shocked by his own power, he looked down at his hands. His fingernails were slightly elongated and pitch-black. As he scanned himself from head to toe, he instantly recognized his attire,this was his in-game gear, a sleek set of light armor completely covered by a flowing dark cloak.

Still locked in disbelief, he began walking toward the center of the arena to double-check the surroundings. He noticed the piles of grayish-black ash the residue left behind after defeating the final raid boss. He wanted to confirm his suspicions, because up until now, he had only seen this arena on a flat computer screen. It was hard to tell for sure, but the floating monoliths matched the game perfectly.

He focused entirely on the throne. From a distance, it had looked small, but up close, it was a truly massive, intimidating structure. Walking up the grand steps, he found the seat covered in a thick pile of ash, and buried within that pile was a colossal skull with a large legendary sword embedded deep inside it. An inscription was engraved directly onto the blade. He gasped at what he saw:

[Dedicated to Rael Voss, The One Man Army who defied the void.]

“Okay then... this confirms it. This is my in-game nickname, without a doubt,” he said, his voice heavy with a strange sense of acceptance.

As he stepped down from the platform, his eyes caught a glimpse of his reflection on the polished obsidian surface of the throne. He leaned closer to inspect himself. "Is this... my character's avatar?"

Of course it was. It was the exact avatar he had meticulously customized years ago.

He had shiny black hair, striking gold eyes with a sharp vertical slit and a glowing orange ring around the pupils, and slightly elongated, sharp fangs. Most noticeably, a pair of pitch-black, sharp obsidian horns protruded from his head. He touched them gently, feeling a strange, tickling sensation at the base of his scalp, a feeling he had never experienced before. His skin was light, incredibly smooth, yet warm to the touch. Lastly, he looked behind him and spotted a tail. He tried to wiggle it experimentally. "Oh boy..." The neurological sensation of having an extra limb was completely mind-boggling.

Piecing the clues together, he concluded that after uploading his monumental milestone video to YouTube, he must have fallen asleep before his morning shift. By some absolute miracle, he had been transported directly into Echoes Of Eternity, the MMORPG that had accompanied him through eight years of absolute loneliness.

Taking a deep breath, Rael uttered the system command aloud. "[Status]."

Instantly, a glowing blue status screen materialized in his vision:

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

Rael Voss

*The One Man Army*

Main class: Primordial summoner

Sub class: Battle Archmage

Level 5129 Draconic [zephyr *MAX]

STR: 2,552,567

AGI: 859,897

INT: 7,478,987

CON: 1,782,273

WIS: 4,128,854

MAN: 32,892,774

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

Feeling the crisp air of the upper atmosphere and the steady, powerful heartbeat in his chest, it was still incredibly hard to believe this was reality. As a last resort, he decided to strike his own face with his bare hand as hard as he could.

Smack!

The moment his hand connected with his cheek, the sheer force of the impact caused a mini-sonic boom, sending a violent gust of wind blowing across the arena. Weirdly enough, it didn't really hurt due to his monstrously high defense stats, but the visual and auditory effect of a single, casual punch was utterly terrifying. "What in the hell..."

This was definitively not a dream. But how? Was he a chosen one? Or had something supernatural occurred in his apartment while he slept? He was thoroughly confused by the mechanics of his transmigration, but at the same time, a wave of profound acceptance washed over him. This was the game he loved. He was finally free from the crushing responsibilities of corporate work, free from the repetitive, gray life of a modern office slave. Though there was a little sting because his life on Earth had just been about to change for the better, he shook his head. 'What the hell, there's no use crying over spilled milk.'

He forced himself to look at the positive side. For the first time in his life, he had been granted a permanent vacation. Looking up at the sky, he marveled at the sight. "When was the last time I actually took a break to notice something like this?" The sky was a pristine, brilliant blue, and the wind felt entirely natural. There was no pollution, no looming deadlines, no corporate responsibilities. Just freedom. He let out a soft chuckle, which quickly dissolved into a loud, booming laugh of pure liberation.

Growing excited, he decided he wanted to test his abilities by summoning one of his companions.

Because his Summoner class had reached its absolute peak evolution, his mental library contained thousands of contractible creatures, ranging from high-tier monsters to legendary beasts. But of course, the most powerful among them were his six primordial-grade summons.

Biting his lower lip with anticipation, he decided to test the invocation mechanics. He chose his absolute favorite summon—an entity that had single-handedly fixed almost every high-level party crisis during his gaming days. "Hmm..."

But a sudden realization gave him pause. He had played the game using a keyboard and mouse; he had never actually cast a spell or manipulated real mana in his life.

Suddenly, a massive surge of ancient knowledge flooded directly into his brain. Words of a forgotten, powerful language materialized in his mind, feeling completely natural, as if he had spoken them millions of times before. A strange, heavy energy surged from the depths of his stomach, traveling up through his chest, into his throat, and pooling heavily into his hands.

'Is this... mana?' he recognized instantly.

Guided by pure muscle memory, an ancient, rumbling language flowed from his lips, concluding with the true name of the entity. "....I summon thee, Dark Lord of the Undead, Vhal'Zar!"

Instantly, the stone ground around the summoning circle dissolved into a pool of bubbling, pitch-black liquid. The dark ether gathered at a single point, rising upward as a towering skeleton clad in dark obsidian armor materialized from the abyss. He held an ornate, dark staff in his left hand, a massive black greatsword imbued with a pulsing crimson-blood aura strapped to his back, and a jagged crown resting proudly upon his bone skull.

This was Vhal'Zar, the Primordial Undead King. He was one of Rael's absolute favorites. To evolve him to the primordial grade, Rael had to gather massive amounts of a rare item called Liquid Black Flame, which only had a microscopic drop-rate from the Lich King raid boss. Rael had to solo-farm that raid hundreds of times until the requirements were met. Vhal'Zar was his oldest companion, having journeyed with him from a basic, fragile skeleton all the way to a world-ending primordial deity.

In the game mechanics, the black liquid he generated inflicted massive terrain debuffs on enemies, and he possessed an array of highly efficient crowd-control skills. But truth be told, the main reason Rael loved him so much was simply because his character design looked incredibly cool and magnificent.

Vhal'Zar dropped heavily to one knee before his creator, his voice echoing from the depths of his hollow chest like a rumbling earthquake. "Oh, Master... I greet you with the deepest respect. Command whatever you desire."

Rael’s chest swelled with immense, overwhelming joy, but he forcefully maintained a stoic exterior. Seeing his legendary summon manifested in full, three-dimensional reality rather than a flat computer screen was a breathtaking experience. The sheer detail of the armor up close was magnificent.

After standing there in silent admiration for a long moment, the silence became slightly awkward. Rael cleared his throat. "Ahem. Raise your head, Vhal'Zar."

The Undead King immediately obeyed, standing tall. "Yes, Master."

Now, Rael faced a brand-new problem. Now that he had summoned him, he realized he didn't actually know what to order him to do. After another long, silent pause, Vhal'Zar tilted his head slightly, asking with profound reverence, "Is something the matter, my Master?"

Rael blinked, utterly shocked. In the game, a summon could never speak back or initiate dialogue, even if the player left their character idle for hours. Summons were just lines of code that executed basic combat algorithms. But this entity before him possessed actual consciousness-it was a living, breathing reality, not a limited game system.

Wanting to confirm the boundaries of this new world, Rael asked a crucial question. "Do you possess free will, Vhal'Zar?" This was an incredibly vital piece of information, as it would determine whether his summons were bound by absolute loyalty or if they could potentially turn against him. Since the original game lacked a relationship or affinity system, he had to be absolutely sure.

Shifting his staff to his left hand, Vhal'Zar instantly dropped back down to one knee. He placed his massive gauntleted right hand over his chest armor, answering with fierce intensity. "My free will belongs entirely to you, Master. Every time I succeed in executing your bidding, my soul is filled with overwhelming joy and pride. If I were to commit an error or fail to satisfy your desires, my very existence would be rendered utterly meaningless and useless."

Rael rested his knuckles against his chin, his gamer curiosity thoroughly piqued. He wanted to test the absolute limits of this programming. "Is that so? Then... kill yourself."

It was a command he could never issue in the game; the UI only provided a basic 'Dismiss' option, which simply unsummoned the unit. It was completely different from suicide.

Without a single millisecond of hesitation, Vhal'Zar stood up, dropped his staff to the floor, and reached back to unsheath his massive crimson greatsword. Raising the heavy blade with absolute precision, he prepared to plunge the weapon directly through his own chest core.

Seeing that the giant was genuinely going through with it, Rael panicked. "Stop!!!"

The tip of the greatsword frozen instantly, having already cracked the surface of Vhal'Zar’s thick obsidian breastplate. There was no room left for doubt, his loyalty was absolute, transcending the boundaries of life and death.

Lowering the blade, Vhal'Zar knelt once more, his hollow voice filled with deep sorrow. "Master... is my service no longer satisfactory to you? Or do you perhaps wish to end my pathetic life with your own grand hands instead?" He turned the greatsword around, holding it horizontally with both hands as he respectfully offered the hilt to Rael.

A heavy wave of guilt washed over Rael. He let out a long sigh, looking down at his loyal knight. "I am sorry, Vhal'Zar..."

Vhal'Zar flinched, standing up abruptly as immense panic and disappointment in himself took over. "Master, no! If anything is wrong, the blame lies entirely on my incompetence, not you! This lowly servant shall gladly end his own existence to rectify whatever mistake I have committed-"

"I said, STOP!" Rael roared, his voice booming across the arena. He felt incredibly embarrassed and guilty for ordering such a foolish thing from his favorite companion just for a test. "It's not that I'm unsatisfied with you, it's just..." He trailed off, clearing his throat. "Anyway, just drop the subject."

Vhal'Zar lowered his head respectfully. "Then what do you desire, my liege?"

Rael realized that if he didn't give the Undead King a proper, constructive task, the giant would remain consumed by existential dread. Thinking quickly, a great practical idea came to mind.

"Vhal'Zar, I want to test my current physical strength and get used to coordinating this body in a real fight. Summon your weakest minions."

Hearing a concrete command, Vhal'Zar’s aura stabilized. "As you command, Master."

Once again, the obsidian ground liquefied into darkness. Rows of massive, heavily armored skeletons wielding towering shields and broadswords rose steadily from the abyss. These were Death Knights the lowest around level 500, most basic tier of infantry in Vhal'Zar's undead legion.

"Yeah... now it's time to practice," Rael muttered, a thrill of excitement shooting through his veins.

He flexed his legs and leaped into the air, instantly gasping in shock as he soared hundreds of feet above the arena. "Woooh! Hohoho!"

Descending from the stratosphere, he balled his fist, executing a powerful downward smash to trigger a massive area-of-effect shockwave. Upon impact, the sheer kinetic force caused dozens of Death Knights to instantly crumble into fine white dust. Without pausing, Rael blurred into motion, dashing through the remaining ranks. His punches turned the heavily armored monsters into literal sandbags, shattering them into oblivion one after another. He channeled all his accumulated real-world stress, anxiety, and frustration into every single blow.

For the first time in over a decade, he felt an exhilarating rush of youth. In fact, his body was genuinely young again. No more chronic back pain, no more stiff joint aches—he was wild, young, and completely free.

"HAHAHAHA!" Rael laughed out loud, enjoying every single second of the raw power surging through his limbs.

Watching from the sidelines, Vhal'Zar clapped his gauntlets together in pure admiration, cheering him on. "Magnificent, Master! Those are truly spectacular movements!"

After a while, once the summoned ranks were entirely depleted, Rael finally came to a halt. His chest heaved with heavy breaths, but he didn't feel exhausted at all; instead, his entire system was buzzing with pure adrenaline. He had never imagined a reality where he could be this profoundly strong and free at the exact same time.

Vhal'Zar walked over to him, bowing his head respectfully. "As expected of the Sovereign. Your combat prowess is as absolute and terrifying as ever, Master."

Rael looked at his loyal companion and flashed a genuine, bright smile. Seeing that expression of satisfaction on his master's face, Vhal'Zar felt a profound sense of peace.

Chapter 2: All Gone

Amazed by the incredible physical capabilities he had just gained, Rael was utterly thrilled. “Hehehe... this body is absolutely amazing,” he muttered.

He paused for a moment, realizing there were still countless elements he hadn't gotten to test yet—specifically his massive library of magic and active skills. “Vhal’Zar, I want to try out some magic and a few other skills, if you don't mind. I still need your minions to act as practice dummies, but command them to stay completely still and do nothing.”

Vhal’Zar caught the command with absolute clarity. With a wave of his staff, he summoned the heavy Death Knights once more. True to the order, the monstrous skeletons didn't attack or move; they stood rigidly at their posts like stone statues.

Rael decided to start by testing his passive Draconic trait: the legendary dragon breath. 'Okay, here we go.' Even though his mind had never performed this action before, his new body instinctively knew exactly what to do.

First, he took a deep, localized inhale, contracting his diaphragm to expand his lungs to their maximum capacity. Then, right before exhaling, he felt a strange internal axis activate deep within his throat. The moment that hidden magical valve opened, he exhaled with all his might.

A colossal torrent of fire erupted from his mouth.

The flames were unlike anything ordinary. Because his Draconic race had reached its peak evolution—the ancestral Zephyr MAX—the fire he emitted burned with a terrifying, hellish heat, swirling in an ominous hue of pitch-black and smoky grayish ash.

“Well, that went exceptionally well,” Rael mused, wiping his lips.

Next, he moved on to testing active magic. Manipulating magic felt somewhat similar to casting a summon, but the fundamental application of mana was entirely different.

Rael’s mind was flooded with thousands of unlockable spells and high-tier incantations. It felt exactly like a massive archive filled with countless locked boxes, and he intuitively knew exactly which key opened which locker. Every magic type required a different method of applying mana to activate it. With his current body, Rael’s mind already knew what he wanted to use and how to apply it.

'I swear, even I’m amazed by my own intelligence right now,'Rael thought. Back on Earth, he used to suffer from those relatable, awkward moments of minor amnesia—like walking all the way into the kitchen to grab a drink, only to stand there completely blanking out on why he went there in the first place, before finally remembering a second later. But now, his mental clarity was flawless.

For the next few hours, Rael adapted his mind to his avatar's combat arts, unleashing a variety of test spells upon the unmoving Death Knights. The results were devastatingly successful. “Fantastic! I never thought real battle could be this exciting!”

The sky arena was left completely messy, riddled with deep craters and jagged structural cracks from his onslaught, but within a few hours, the ancient stone floor automatically repaired itself back to pristine condition.

Standing amidst the dissipating smoke, Rael looked back at Vhal'Zar. Realizing he had the power to call upon his entire legendary roster, a wide, excited grin spread across his face. “Hey, Vhal’Zar. Let’s meet your brothers and sisters, shall we?”

Vhal’Zar felt a strange, sudden pang of hesitation hit his core. However, seeing his master’s rare, joyous expression, he refused to ruin the moment. Bowing his head, he answered softly, “As you wish, Master.”

Steeling his focus, Rael began to chant, targeting one of his other primordial-grade companions. This time, he funneled his massive mana pool into an incantation focused entirely on cosmic and stellar properties. A massive geometric rune circle materialized in the air, emitting a blinding, divine golden light. Pristine white feathers began to manifest out of thin air, signaling that the invocation was nearing completion.

The divine light flared in a final, blinding flash. Rael distinctly felt the contract connection snap into place, confirming the entity had been called. But when the light faded, the space in front of him was completely empty.

Rael blinked. “What...?”

A sudden wave of intense panic and shock seized his chest. Fingers trembling, he forcefully barked out the system interface command.

“[Summons].”

Instantly, a long, cascading row of blue status notifications materialized rapidly in his vision, flashing repeatedly:

[DECEASED]

[DECEASED]

[CONTRACT BROKEN – INDEPENDENT]

[DECEASED]

[DECEASED]

[CONTRACT BROKEN – INDEPENDENT]

[DECEASED]

..........

Seeing the horrific status logs completely paralyzed him. It felt as if all of his years of agonizing effort, endless grinding, and hard work to raise each of his beloved companions had been utterly wasted, wiped away in an instant.

A sharp, burning heat flared deep within Rael’s chest. Slowly, he turned his head toward Vhal’Zar, his golden eyes narrowing as he spoke through tightly gritted teeth. "What... the hell... happened?"

Sensing the terrifying drop in his master's mood, Vhal’Zar lowered his posture, carefully choosing his words. "Master... we live deep within your soul space. Throughout all those years, you nurtured us, raised us, and gave us purpose. But after I achieved my final evolution into a primordial being, my perception expanded. I began to see a tragic truth... your current vessel right now is not your original body. It is an empty container filled with your soul from another world."

Rael’s mounting anger vanished instantly, replaced by absolute shock and pure panic. "What?! You... you knew?!"

Vhal’Zar’s hollow eye sockets began to emit a soft, comforting blue flame. "Yes, Master. We could always see past the avatar. We saw your genuine smiles, your fierce anger directed through our enemies, and we felt the profound warmth and love you poured into forming our very beings. That unwavering love... is the sole reason I chose to stay until the very end."

Rael froze, a wave of immense guilt washing over him. Looking at the giant skeleton, he realized Vhal'Zar wasn't just a collection of code or a simple summon anymore. This entity knew his true, ordinary human identity, yet his loyalty remained completely unshakeable. Hearing such devotion, Rael found it impossible to remain angry.

But a glaring question still bothered him. How exactly did the others manage to break free? "But... how did the other summons manage to escape from my body?"

Vhal’Zar’s blue eye flames dimmed slightly, returning to a somber, hollow state. "After everything you gave us, we never once doubted you. We knew you would never abandon us. And so, we waited... and we waited. We remained locked in the dark silence of your soul space for twenty-five thousand years, by my last count."

Rael gasped, stumbling back in absolute disbelief. "Wait... what?! Twenty-five thousand years?! Are you serious?!"

Hearing his master's confusion, Vhal’Zar’s hollow voice actually rose with a touch of profound happiness. "I knew it... I knew you didn't willingly abandon us! There was a different reason for your absence!"

Rael offered a bittersweet, pained smile. "Of course I never abandoned any of you..." His face contorted with deep confusion. "But twenty-five thousand years? I literally just woke up in this body moments ago. In my old world, only a single day had passed since I logged off. Why? What happened to the timeline? And more importantly... how did you guys even manage to leave my internal space?"

Vhal’Zar sighed, the sound like wind rushing through a tomb. "Inside your slumbering vessel, the summons were trapped together for twenty-five thousand years. After they all departed, I was left entirely alone, waiting for another five thousand years."

Rael’s breath hitched. 'So it’s a grand total of thirty thousand years...'

"For those first twenty-five thousand years," Vhal’Zar continued softly, "the crushing despair and sorrow of the summons began to physically erode the spiritual walls of your internal soul space. Eventually, the barrier tore apart. Many of the summons began to walk out of your body. We primordials had no right to restrict their freedom, so we let them walk away... but it came at a devastating cost to their lifespan. All this time, their immortality depended entirely on your internal soul space. In that sacred realm, all summons remain eternally youthful, immune to aging, and capable of healing any wound. But once they step out into the real world, they can never come back."

Rael’s heart sank. "How do you know they can never come back?"

Vhal’Zar hesitated for a fraction of a second before lowering his head. "Because after they walked out of the internal gate... they vanished permanently. None ever returned."

Taking a slow breath, Vhal'Zar finished the tragic history. "Master, the summons walked out one by one, until only seven of us primordials remained. We argued fiercely among ourselves whether to stay or leave. Some argued that they wanted to venture out to find a way to summon you back to this world. Others argued bitterly that you had abandoned us to a dead reality. Slowly, one by one, the other six primordials chose to walk through the rift... until I was the only one left."

Deep, unadulterated sorrow pierced Rael's heart. He looked at Vhal’Zar with eyes full of profound sympathy and regret.

Vhal’Zar’s eye sockets flared with that warm, loyal blue light once more. "But after that long, agonizing wait... I was finally summoned by your hand today. Master... that was truly the happiest moment of my entire thirty-thousand-year existence."

Feeling a crushing weight of guilt and pity, Rael turned his gaze toward the endless sky. He couldn't help but wonder what had become of his lost companions. "I... I don't even know how to properly respond to this, Vhal. The time dilation between my old world and this one makes no sense. But regardless of the cause... I am the one responsible for all of you."

He recalled the blue notification bar: [CONTRACT BROKEN – INDEPENDENT].

Assuming those specific independent summons were still alive out there somewhere, completely disconnected from his system radar, Rael steeled his resolve. "They are out there. Whether they hate me or are desperately searching for me, I have a duty to find them. But I can't track them from all the way up here... hmm."

Vhal’Zar stepped forward, making a tactical suggestion. "What if we descend from this sky arena and gather information from the surface, Master?"

Rael rested his knuckles against his chin. "Well... that's a good idea to start."

They walked over to the edge of the floating platform, peering downward. Rael's draconic vision couldn't pierce the surface; the ground below was entirely obscured by a dense, unyielding sea of thick clouds.

"Hmm... if I remember the game topography correctly, directly beneath this arena lies The Cataclysmic Badlands. It’s a dangerous frontier crawling with monster calamities, ranging from level 500 to 1500 just to reach this zone."

Vhal’Zar looked at Rael. "Then, Master, it would be wise if we cast a sequence of defensive buffs upon ourselves before we dive down."

Rael thought about it for a second, a better tactical idea coming to mind. "Wait a minute. Instead of walking through a warzone, how about we just use long-range spatial magic to teleport directly into the regional starting zone, the Mistveil Gate?"

Vhal’Zar instantly praised him. "A truly magnificent idea, Master."

Drawing from his memory, Rael visualized the exact layout and spatial coordinates of the Mistveil Gate he had seen thousands of times through his computer screen. Unlocking the precise archive locker in his mental library, he channeled his energy.

Spatial Magic: [Mass Spatial Transition]

Rael’s mana exploded outward in a dense, suffocating wave. Beneath their feet, a massive, multi-layered geometric magic circle materialized, its ancient runes spinning violently and glowing with a sharp, blue-white light. He extended the spell's perimeter to encompass Vhal'Zar before projecting the exact coordinates.

Suddenly, the spinning runes froze dead in their tracks.

WHIISHHH——!

A harsh, high-pitched screech echoed violently inside Rael's mind. The smoothly flowing mana instantly turned chaotic, flickering and vibrating uncontrollably. The space around them didn't fold; instead, his spell slammed directly into a solid, invisible cosmic wall. A sharp sting of severe mana backlash ripped through his chest.

“GRaaah!!! Haah... haah... haah... damn it, that hurt way more than I thought it would!” Rael wheezed, clutching his chest.

A bright red system warning flashed before his eyes:

[WARNING: TARGET COORDINATES DO NOT MATCH WORLD TOPOGRAPHY]

[SPELL INTERRUPTED – SPACE NOT FOUND]

Rael’s eyes squinted in sheer disbelief as he stared at the warning log. 'Space not found? But the coordinates are perfectly accurate... unless...'

Seeing his master injured, Vhal’Zar panicked, immediately rushing to his side to check his condition. "Are you alright, Master?! Are you hurt?!"

Rael slowly stood back up, brushing off his dark cloak. "Bad news, Vhal," he said, his expression turning grave. "I guess this world isn't the same sandbox we used to know. It has completely evolved into a brand-new reality."

He cast his gaze back down toward the edge of the platform. "And I highly doubt that the territory beneath this arena is still the same badlands we remember."

Deciding to prepare for the absolute worst-case scenario, Rael rapidly cast a massive chain of high-tier defensive buffs around his body:

[Zephyr’s Velocity Matrix]

[Aegis of the Void Archmage]

[Ashen Shroud: Obsidian Skin]

[Mana-Weaved Armament: Ashen Edge]

[Arcane Overclock: Multi-Threading]

[Chrono-Mana Resonance]

“And lastly, to ensure we avoid any unnecessary, troublesome problems on the surface...” Rael chanted smoothly.

[Arcane Obfuscation: False Horizon]

“Done.” Rael let out a breath, turning to look at his servant. "So, Vhal... do you want to return to my soul space for the journey, or...?"

Rael caught the brief, anxious shift in Vhal'Zar's posture. Smiling faintly, he corrected himself. "Actually, it's fine if you want to stay outside by my side."

Vhal’Zar’s hollow skull sockets flared with a brilliant, joyful blue light. "Really, Master?!" For a split second, the fearsome Primordial King completely lost his terrifying composure, looking like an excited child. "Then with your gracious permission, Master, let me stand by your side forever!"

Rael offered a troubled, amused look. "But first, we need to completely conceal your appearance and stack some stealth buffs. We have no idea what kind of civilization or threats we'll encounter down there."

Vhal’Zar’s eye flames dimmed slightly. "I possess many ancient buffs to drastically strengthen my stats, Master... but when it comes to stealth or disguise magic, I have none."

Rael let out a soft sigh. "Okay, hang in there." He uttered the spatial command aloud. "[Inventory]."

A glowing blue grid displaying his endless collection of items materialized. It contained thousands of rare, legendary, and mythical artifacts accumulated over eight years of solo raiding. Rael scrolled through the infinite list and pulled out a specific item. "Here."

[Ring of the Mortal Mirage]

"And I should probably wear one too," Rael muttered, sliding an identical ring onto his own finger.

The moment the band settled on Rael's finger, a cold, numbing sensation washed over his entire body. His sharp, black obsidian horns slowly retracted back into his skull, and his long draconic tail vanished entirely into thin air. His overwhelming, suffocating presence collapsed inward, completely sealed. His sharp claws shortened into regular human nails, and the vertical slits and orange rings of his draconic pupils rounded out, shifting into ordinary, calm golden human eyes. In the eyes of the world, he was no longer a peak-evolved Zephyr dragon-kin; he looked like an ordinary human youth.

"Catch, Vhal'Zar," Rael tossed the second ring across the space. "Wear it. It will force a high-tier human illusion over your frame and completely seal your undead presence from the world's detection."

Vhal’Zar caught the small ring with his massive gauntlet. He inspected it curiously before slowly sliding it onto one of his skeletal fingers.

Instantly, a brilliant cascade of ethereal blue light erupted from the band, wrapping around his towering seven-foot frame like a thick, magical cocoon.

The monstrous, skeletal silhouette began to compress. But instead of a chaotic, painful mutation, the transformation flowed with mesmerizing, fluid grace. The terrifying, hollow voids of his skull face were woven over by pure, dense mana, materializing into a set of chiseled, incredibly handsome human features. His pale skin looked like perfectly carved marble, defined by a sharp jawline and long, midnight-black hair that fell gracefully over his shoulders. His eyes, once burning pits of undead malice, transformed into sharp, piercing human eyes with a faint, glowing blue ring around his pupils.

His legendary armor responded to the shift flawlessly. The ancient, primordial plates didn't vanish or transform into cheap iron; instead, the dark metal groaned and compressed, shrinking in size to mold itself perfectly around his new, muscular human physique. Every intricate rune, jagged edge, and menacing detail of his Primordial King armor remained completely intact—now scaled down to human proportions.

Vhal’Zar balled his new human hands into fists, marveling at the unfamiliar sensation of warm flesh and a simulated, rhythmic heartbeat in his chest. He looked down at his perfectly fitted, downsized armor in absolute amazement.

"Incredible..." Vhal’Zar muttered. His voice was no longer a hollow, echoing rasp from the grave, but a deep, commanding baritone. "The armor... it feels like a second skin. My primordial power is completely suppressed within this form, yet I feel absolutely no discomfort."

Standing opposite him, Rael was putting on a calm, indifferent expression on the outside, but internally, his mind was absolutely reeling in shock. Back in the game, sharing equipment or vanity items with a summoned entity was mathematically impossible according to the system coding. He had honestly tossed the ring to Vhal'Zar as a half-serious joke, never expecting the magic to actually interface with a summon. Not only had he stumbled upon an extraordinary new rule of this world, but Vhal'Zar's human appearance was way beyond his expectations.

'The hell, he's way too handsome! Why is my transformation so normal compared to his? Damn it! ...But to be fair, this avatar character is way more handsome than I am in the real world, so no complaints.'

Clearing his throat to maintain his cool exterior, Rael nodded. "Ahem... yeah. It suits you well. At least now you won't cause a continent-wide panic the moment we land."

Turning his gaze back toward the endless sea of clouds at the edge of the sky arena, Rael took a deep, final breath. "Alright. Let's head down raw. Brace yourself, Vhal."

Activating [Flight]—a common, baseline spell for anyone versed in the arcane arts—the duo stepped off the floating monolith and dived headfirst into the unknown world below.

Chapter 3: New Town

As their bodies drifted downward, cutting through the dense, perpetual blanket of white clouds, the world around them shifted dramatically. The air of the sky arena had always been stagnant and still, but here, the stratosphere felt alive.

Whoosh.

Piercing through the bottom layer of the clouds, the first thing that hit Rael wasn't a warning alarm, but a breath of incredibly crisp, cool air. His eyes widened slightly.

Below them lay an endless, vibrant canopy of emerald-green forests. A massive, crystal-clear river snaked gracefully through the valley, reflecting the bright morning sunlight like a shattered diamond. The wind carrying them down was sweet, carrying the scent of pine wood, damp earth, and wild flora. For someone who had spent his previous life trapped in a concrete jungle on Earth, and then years staring at a flat computer screen, the sheer majesty of this untamed, beautiful nature was intoxicating.

“Woah,” Rael muttered, a genuine smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he hovered mid-air, letting the cool breeze wash over his face. Even Vhal'Zar, flying quietly beside him, closed his human eyes for a moment, silently taking in the refreshing warmth of a sun he hadn't felt in thirty millennia.

But as their descent brought them closer to the tree line, Rael’s nostalgic awe suddenly froze.

He narrowed his golden, human-disguised eyes, looking directly beneath him, where The Cataclysmic Badlands should have been. In his memories, this valley was supposed to be a jagged, hellish wasteland of black obsidian rock, rivers of boiling magma, and the skeletal remains of dragons—a place where Level 500 to 1500 calamity monsters roamed, tearing apart any player foolish enough to step foot here.

Yet, there was no magma. There were no monsters.

Nestled perfectly in the basin of the valley, right at the edge of the great forest, was a sprawling, peaceful settlement.

From this height, Rael could clearly see hundreds of rustic wooden and white-stone houses with dark tiled roofs. Giant wooden windmills turned lazily in the breeze, and thin trails of grey smoke drifted peacefully from chimneys into the blue sky. He could even spot tiny, dot-like figures of people—human civilians—walking along dirt roads, pulling wooden carts, and tending to vast green farmlands.

It wasn't a dangerous endgame zone. It was a massive, bustling village—or rather, a well-established peripheral town.

Rael completely halted his flight, hovering a few hundred feet above the forest canopy, his brain struggling to process the massive difference.

"Master..." Vhal'Zar spoke, his deep baritone breaking the silence, his eyes fixed on the village below. "The malicious energy of the badlands... it's completely gone. I cannot feel a single trace of the old world's calamities down there."

Rael let out a soft, dry chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah. It completely rewrote the map. The ultimate hellzone is now a peaceful town."

He took one last look at the beautiful, serene landscape, his expression turning sharp and calculating once more. "Well, at least we won't have to fight our way through a horde of monsters just to get a cup of water. Let's land inside the forest line, hide our flight mana, and walk into that town like normal travelers."

After landing in the forest, Rael noticed that their clothes would still attract too much attention. He opened his inventory and found a set of ordinary, less eye-catching clothes for himself. For Vhal'Zar, he chose a set of standard armor and ordered him, "Vhal, use this armor. If you keep wearing that black obsidian armor, we'll be swarmed by people."

Vhal'Zar looked at him and asked, "But Master, what are we going to do if that village is dangerous?"

Rael looked back at him. "You said the energy of the Badlands is completely gone, right? So it's safe. Besides, we don’t want to attract unwanted attention, so..."

Vhal'Zar obeyed his master without question. Suddenly, his black armor vanished instantly into thin air.

Rael watched in confusion. "Wait a minute. I forgot your armor is a part of you, right? But it just disappeared instantly. How did you do that?"

"I just absorbed it," Vhal'Zar explained. "The armor is bound to my body, and I can summon it back out as I please." To demonstrate, the armor popped back into existence. "See?"

Rael realized he was learning a lot about the differences between game mechanics and actual reality. It was fascinating.

Rael then began changing into his ordinary clothes. As he stripped down, he was shocked by his own reflection. His body possessed a flawless six-pack and incredibly smooth skin—an extraordinary physique that was neither too muscular nor too skinny. It was just perfect. And his little guy... no, his big guy... was perfect too.

On the other hand, Vhal'Zar’s human disguise looked just as flawless, though he was a little taller than Rael. Rael couldn't help but wonder if an undead using that disguise ring would experience the return of human desires. It was a thought he didn't actually want to explore, but he was curious nonetheless.

Once ready, they made their way toward the town. At the main gate, a long line of people was already waiting to enter.

Curiously, Rael tapped the shoulder of a middle-aged man standing right in front of them. "Excuse me, mister. Is there a specific reason why everyone is gathered in such a long line today?"

The man turned around, looking a bit annoyed at first. But the moment his eyes landed on Rael, his expression instantly froze. "Ah, yes, well... there is a Saint scheduled to visit the town today, so the security is tight—"

The man paused, nervously scanning Rael's face, then shifting his gaze to the tall, imposing figure of Vhal'Zar standing right behind him with a steel sword strapped to his waist.

Instantly, the man's face drained of color. He practically threw himself into a deep bow. "A-Ah! My deepest, most sincere apologies, my lord! This poor, uneducated peasant meant no rudeness earlier!"

Rael's eyes widened in utter confusion at the sudden, extreme shift to formal speech. "Mister, it's totally fine. You can just talk to me normally—"

"No! No! I couldn't possibly!" the man cut him off, his voice laced with pure panic. "A lowly commoner like myself has no right to speak casually in front of a high nobleman such as yourself, my lord!"

The commotion immediately drew the attention of dozens of people waiting in line. Whispers broke out as a sea of eyes locked onto them. Rael began to panic internally, while Vhal'Zar simply stood tall, nodding proudly, immensely satisfied that these mortals recognized his master's supreme nobility.

"No, no, no! Wait! We are not nobles! We are just ordinary travelers!" Rael pleaded, waving his hands frantically.

The man, still using highly formal words, countered, "But if you are a mere traveler, you wouldn't possess such an otherworldly appearance, nor would you have a bodyguard with the bearing of a knight!"

What is wrong with my face?!Rael thought frantically. And what do you mean Vhal looks like a knight?

Rael glanced at Vhal'Zar and reality hit him. Ah, right... his build, his face... nothing about him looks like an ordinary person. And his composure is way too regal for a commoner. Making him stand here was my mistake, haaaah...

They hadn't realized that even though they had changed their clothes, their faces and bodies completely defied the standards of ordinary citizens. Their goal of not attracting attention had been utterly futile from the start.

Desperate to salvage the situation, Rael tried to throw out a logical excuse. "Just think about it logically, mister! If I were really a powerful nobleman, why would I be standing patiently in line like everyone else? And secondly, he isn't my bodyguard, he's just a close friend—"

Right on cue, Vhal'Zar's reflexes kicked in. Hearing his master equate himself to a mere servant, Vhal'Zar instantly dropped to one knee right there on the dirt road, slamming his fist against his chest armor.

"Master! This lowly one is unworthy of being equated as your equal—"

Panicking that Vhal'Zar's booming voice would expose them further, Rael immediately raised his own voice to drown him out. "Ooh! Oooh! Hooh! What are you doing, Vhal?! You can’t be making jokes like that!"

But Vhal'Zar stubbornly continued, "But, Maste—"

Rael instantly clamped his hand over Vhal'Zar's mouth and offered an awkward, strained laugh to the middle-aged man. "Sorry, my friend loves to play pranks like that, hahahaha! Come here, you!"

With that, he dragged Vhal'Zar away under the watchful, bewildered stares of the crowd. They had caused a massive scene. Their plan was ruined.

Once they were a safe distance away, Rael scolded Vhal'Zar, his hand raised in exasperation. "Are you even reflecting on your actions right now?!"

Vhal'Zar answered, still entirely stubborn, "No! Being compared to me is an insult to you, Master!"

Rael sighed, thoroughly exhausted by his summon's thick-headedness. He tried to reason with him. "Vhal'Zar, then how about you just act as my bodyguard? That relationship—"

Vhal'Zar still couldn't accept it. "No! A mere bodyguard is a title far too lowly to stand by your side. You are my Sovereign, the absolute pinnacle of power! I am merely a fragment of the strength you command!"

Rael got a massive headache. Then why the hell won't you just listen to me and obey, haaaah...

Massaging his forehead, Rael decided to force a final compromise. "Okay, look. From now on, in front of other people, our relationship is officially Master and Servant. You can call me Master. BUT! Do not overreact like you just did. No kneeling, no shouting, no dramatic speeches. Under... stood?!"

The moment the word 'Servant' left Rael's mouth, Vhal'Zar’s eyes lit up with absolute satisfaction. In a split-second reflex, he dropped back down onto one knee.

Rael stared at him, feeling completely hopeless. "What did I literally just say?"

Realizing his mistake, Vhal'Zar didn't stand up, but instead smoothly transitioned his posture. He placed his right hand firmly over his heart, tilting his head down in a perfect, rigid knightly salute. "My apologies, Master. I understand perfectly."

Rael couldn't help but crack a faint smile at his servant's absurd yet endearing loyalty. "Good. Just... don't do that in front of a crowd again. Let's wait here until the line thins out."

They waited in the shadows for a while until the crowd at the gate lessened.

Once the commotion at the front gate finally died down, they quietly blended back into the rear of the line, keeping their heads low. But just as they were about to reach the guards, a resonant, melodic blast of silver trumpets echoed from the horizon, vibrating through the very air.

TRUUUUM-BZZZZZ—!

The ground didn't shake; instead, a soothing, warm energy washed over the dirt road. The town guards immediately abandoned their posts, rushing toward the sides of the path to frantically push the crowd back.

"Make way! Clear the main path immediately!" the guards bellowed, their faces filled with awe. "The Saint’s Holy Convoy is passing through!"

Rather than being annoyed, the crowd of civilians erupted into joyful cheers. People pressed against the barricades, waving and smiling. Intrigued, Rael and Vhal'Zar quietly stood at the back of the crowd, observing the spectacle.

What came down the road was a sight of pure, breathtaking fantasy.

Leading the procession were a dozen grand knights clad in pristine, glowing white plate armor. The metal of their armor seemed to emit a soft, daylight-like luminescence, completely immune to the dust of the road. One of the lead knights held a massive silk banner, beautifully embroidered with a crest depicting a shimmering White Rose pierced by Three Silver Swords.

Behind them drew the main attraction: a carriage that completely defied the laws of physics.

It wasn't pulled by ordinary horses, but by four majestic, pegasus-bred steeds with coats as white as fresh snow and manes made of flowing, ethereal silver light. With every step the horses took, glowing golden ripples materialized beneath their hooves, meaning they weren't even touching the dirty ground.

The carriage itself was a masterpiece carved from a single piece of enchanted white tree lumber. It hovered gracefully six inches above the dirt road, held aloft by glowing blue levitation runes etched along its chassis. Ethereal, translucent white rose petals materialized out of thin air around the carriage, dissolving into glittering mana particles before they could touch the cheering peasants.

For the first time in his two lives, Rael was looking at genuine, high-tier fantasy magic belonging to this world happening right in front of his eyes.

To be fair, he had already experienced a profound wave of awe earlier. Spitting out that terrifying, pitch-black Zephyr dragon breath and testing his basic combat movements against Vhal'Zar's minions had already blown his mind. Experiencing his max-level avatar's physical mechanics in the flesh was a thrilling shock. Yet, watching this convoy still managed to strike a completely different chord of fascination inside him.

His own test earlier had been basic, just scratching the surface of his vast arsenal. Now, seeing the intricate levitation runes on the carriage and the silver-light manes of the floating horses triggered something deep inside his Archmage brain. His mental library, filled with countless locked boxes of high-tier magic, began to flood with vivid possibilities.

He hadn't had time to test his expansive magic earlier because he had been abruptly distracted by the notifications about his summons—many of whom had already deceased or become independent—as well as the history Vhal'Zar had shared. Because of that, he had shifted his entire focus toward descending to this world to find them.

But looking at the physics of this real world, he couldn't help but wonder.

‘If a mid-tier holy convoy looks this spectacular and beautiful in reality,’Rael mused, a dangerous, excited gleam flashing across his golden, human-disguised eyes, ‘what the hell would happen if I unleashed a Tier-10 Spatial Fracture or a continent-wide Zephyr Tempest? How insane would the visual effects look in real life?’

The sheer anticipation of his own untapped power sent a shiver of excitement down his spine.

Beside him, Vhal'Zar merely glanced at the hovering carriage, completely unimpressed by the holy mana, before shifting his eyes back to guard his master. For Vhal'Zar, nothing compared to his Master's greatness. But for Rael, his gamer heart was pounding. This world wasn't just a dead game sandbox anymore. It was alive, beautiful, and packed with endless laws of magic waiting for him to test.

As the tail end of the Saint's convoy finally passed through the grand gates, the town guards began waving the regular crowd forward again.

Rael took a deep breath and shook his head, fixing his clothes. ‘Of course I'm not going to try nuclear-level magic just because I'm curious. What the hell am I, a madman? ...But still, it’s fun to watch.’