ARC 1 First step : Get to know the world that threatens you by gathering enough information.
****
The night sky above the two people was rumbling at this time. Followed by heavy rain and strong winds in the distance, the occasional thunderous sound of lightning thundered as if witnessing what was happening between them at this time.
"Navien..." Cedric stared intently at the man in front of him at this time, his eyes full of anger and determination. He stretched out his sword straight, trembling with uncontrollable emotions, right at the man's chest. "No, should I call you, Lucian Hale?"
The man smiled sarcastically, then chuckled for a moment as if the name was an old joke that had lost its meaning. "Lucian... Hale, huh?"
"I guess this is the first time I've ever heard back someone who called me like that." The man held the tip of Cedric's sword, he positioned the tip of the sword right in front of his heart.
"It's been a long time... I forgot what it was like to be him." The man's eyes were cynically staring at Cedric from behind a half-face mask that was cracked on one side. He pressed the tip of the sword deeper into his skin, and drops of fresh blood began to seep into his dark black robe.
Cedric was silent for a moment. His hands trembled as he held his own sword. For some reason there was an uncomfortable feeling in his heart right now, this... This was not the reaction he was expecting.
Why was the man in front of him currently acting so casually? Shouldn't he have fought it? Hurling insults and at least trying to escape for his safety?
"It's a pity, if you're looking for him, the kid is dead a long time ago." Quickly, the man thrust the tip of Cedric's sword deeper. Blood was now flowing heavily from his chest, drenching the cloth with a deep red color.
Cedric's eyes were rounded, surprised. He immediately pulled out his sword in a panic, his steps halfway back, "You, what are you doing?!"
The man began to cough lightly, a splash of blood coming out of his lips. Although with his body trembling the man could still straighten his back he stared intently at Cedric, a cynical smile visible on his face.
"It's so stupid. Didn't you meet me to kill me?" he said calmly, as if his life at this moment was not important.
"I'm just making your work get done quickly." A cynical smile was still visible on his face, but now not with an air of hatred. Her eyes are actually stuck... pity. Full of regret. Full of pity.
"Well, after all if you kill me it doesn't mean anything." The man's voice sounded soft, as if the bitter truth he was uttering wasn't something that could be debated.
Cedric was silent for a moment, the rain hitting the ground harder at this time. Cedric clenched his trembling hands, he frowned and then looked back at the man.
The man smiled faintly. This time there was no cynicism, just deep exhaustion. "Huh... Even after killing me like this, you didn't realize what really happened."
He combed his long hair back with his hands making the mask that covered half of his face now detached from his face, the mask fell hitting the wet ground. For the first time, Cedric saw the man's face which made his eyes circle instantly.
"Your coming into this world really helped me," the man said in a low voice, but every word felt like a blow to Cedric.
"Yes..." He nodded slightly, a faint smile adorning his lips. "It was indeed the right choice that I told the woman to call you."
Cedric furrowed his brows, he completely didn't understand what the man was saying. However, before he could ask any further blood came out of the man's mouth more and more. He coughed loudly, his body trembled, and for the first time looked completely fragile in the presence of Cedric.
"It seems..." he tried to speak in the midst of his shortness of breath, "Our meeting... just got here this time."
As the man's body slowly collapsed before Cedric, the rain was still pouring mercilessly. The blood mixed with water created a deep color on the rocky ground, and the world seemed to fall silent in a painful silence. Cedric stood frozen, his sword still gripped tightly in his hand, but it no longer felt like a weapon of victory.
[ You have successfully completed the main story.]
The writing is clearly displayed on the screen, accompanied by a dark background and a distinctive notification sound that usually marks a major achievement in the game.
Kalandra Adytama threw his iPad on the mattress in annoyance. The screen is still on, showing the main character standing in the rain, looking at Naveen's exposed body—the last scene of the main story game he just finished.
"What the hell, the ending is like that?!" Kalandra ruffled his hair in frustration, his facial expressions a mixture of anger, disappointment, and disapproval.
He dropped himself onto the bed, staring at the ceiling of the room as if looking for an answer from the god of the game himself. But all he got was silence... and the dissatisfaction that was bubbling in his chest
The Luminous Hero of Avandor, that's the name of the game he just finished earlier. The RPG game is on the rise at the moment attracting the attention of both male and female players. The alluring character visuals are the main attraction for female players while the challenging battle royale system manages to tie the male players together. Therefore, the player base is also diverse consisting of men and women.
"Why is this game so famous when the ending is dregs," he grumbled again, still unable to accept the bitter reality he had just experienced.
Kalandra sat back up from his sleep, taking a deep breath before grabbing her iPad lying on the mattress again. The screen is still on, displaying the main menu of The Luminous Hero of Avandor game with background music that sounds ironic to his ears now.
Quickly, he quit the game and opened the game's official community forum. His finger scrolled through the screen, then he opened the Ratings & Reviews tab.
Without hesitation, he typed his comment, "The game is bad, the ending is ugly, it doesn't feel like it, and it's also a bit hanging. Even though the graphics and plot are good, my expectations are too high, and I am disappointed."
After typing that comment, Kalandra's eyes switched to the rating button then pressed it. He gave the game a 2 out of 5 rating, then hit the send button in frustration.
"If I knew from the begin that it would end like this, I would just uninstall it from yesterday," he muttered while leaning his body against the head of the bed.
Kalandra closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm his mind. The rain outside his room began to fall in a gentle rhythm, blending in with the sound of a fan spinning slowly on the ceiling.
Ding!
The notification sound suddenly broke the silence. Kalandra opened his eyes lazily. He thought it was just an advertisement or spam that usually comes in at these hours. But as he glanced at the iPad screen that was still on his lap, a new email appeared in the notification bar.
[From: no-reply@luminousgame.dev]
[Subject: Thank you for completing our main story!]
Kalandra frowned, "Huh? Are you serious? From the developer? It's not a scam, is it?"
To be sure, he reopened the forum of the game The Luminous Hero of Avandor. Quickly, he searched for official information posts from the developer and found a customer service email address that was often used as a reference for other players.
He split his iPad's screen, opening two windows. One shows the screen of the email he just got and the other shows the screen of the forum page with the official email address of the developer.
His eyes went down letter after letter. He compared the words for word of the two email addresses. After a few blinks to be sure, he muttered softly, "Damn... This is exactly the same. There is not a single letter difference."
Curiosity slowly began to dissipate his annoyance a moment ago. He then tapped on the notification, the screen changed to display the contents of the email that he had only had time to glance at at a glance.
Thank you for playing The Luminous Hero of Avandor and for providing a review. You are one of the few players who have successfully reached the end of the main story. However, as you may know… the end does not mean everything. What if you were given the opportunity… to change everything? Click the button below to
[Start Over]
Kalandra frowned. He stared at the sentences with confusion and suspicion.
"Is this a game promo event or is the developer making a new event?" he muttered, more in the direction of talking to himself.
He narrowed his eyes, then reread the contents of the email.
"If so, why do you have to do this strange thing, like you don't have a job." He muttered to himself.
Kalandra squealed slowly, then her fingers moved quickly to open the game forum tab that she had left earlier.
"Is the developer even sending an email directly to the player personally? Just announce it on the forum. All the players must have seen it too." He said annoyed while browsing the content of the game forum.
His eyes focused on searching, but there was no sign of anything posted there. He even searches using keywords for quick searches, and he even tries to refresh his page again, but to no avail.
His forehead twitched, he leaned his back against the head of the bed, the iPad still in his grasp of the screen switching to the email notifications sent earlier. His eyes couldn't be separated from the screen, his expression changed from annoyed to suspicious. There is something unusual here.
"That's it, spam this time. This type of fraud is very common now." His mutter tried to reassure himself.
He slid his finger to close the email page. But strangely, it can't. Her iPad screen suddenly froze. The response was slow, even when he tapped the home button or power button, nothing changed.
"Hmm? Squirrels? Seriously?"
He tapped the screen several times. The more he tried to exit, the screen flickered for a moment and then returned to the same email.
"It's getting weirder."
When he tapped the screen again, his finger accidentally touched the link sent from the email, "Wait, that was accidental!"
But before the page fully opens, a notification pop-up appears at the top of the screen. Surprisingly, the notification didn't just appear—it opened by itself, as if his iPad was responding to something.
It was a message from the same email.
"Thank you for accepting the invitation. The transfer process is underway."
Then a dazzling white light came out of his iPad. Pitch darkness enveloped him, a strange roar filling his ears. He tried to scream, but his voice got stuck in his throat. Panic began to take over. Where is he? What happened?
Slowly, his sense of vision began to adjust to the darkness. He realized that he was no longer in his room. Heavy raindrops hit the rocky ground around him, cold air piercing his skin. His eyes were wide open, he had seen an atmosphere like this before.
"What the hell is this...?"