The village lay in silent devastation, a casualty of the brutal clash between Art and the minotaur. Art, knowing unconsciousness meant death, had nevertheless unleashed his full power against the beast.
Their battle, however, had drawn unwanted attention: an unknown entity, and the Black Knight, Art's persistent pursuer, whose sole objective was his demise. This was the steep price Art paid for a single deviation from the original storyline of the Lunarian Projection, a misstep that could prove fatal.
To survive this perilous world, he needed to change, to become stronger than anyone, even the main character. No one could save him; he had to sever all feelings that would only lead him to his death.
Hours later, the village had endured even greater destruction from the relentless exchange of attacks.
After several hours, an unconscious Art slowly regained his senses.
The unknown monster and the human figure he'd glimpsed in the sky were gone. All that remained were the chilling remnants of their conflict: a sky frozen to absolute zero, crystallized white, and a colossal crystal plunged deep into the ground.
The mysterious human-like creature in the sky had caused this mass destruction, though Art couldn't be sure what he'd truly seen—his eyes had been pushed to their absolute limit. With a body relatively weak for this world, a direct confrontation with a creature from another dimension would have guaranteed his death. It felt as if fate had intervened, or perhaps it was just a coincidence and sheer luck that he'd gained overpowered unique skills, allowing him to survive this far.
'The presence of the world revolves around the story'—this enigmatic statement was introduced in the third semester of Arcanena Academy. It was a profound monologue that had sparked widespread controversy among Lunarian Projection fandoms. To this day, its meaning remains a mystery. The developers rarely disclosed information to the public, appearing like ghosts working overtime on the game. Some had attempted to uncover details about the Constella Project's headquarters, but each time they approached, they were inexplicably stopped by police, as if an unseen force was meticulously keeping everything confidential.
Speculation among the public mounted until, surprisingly, everything changed one day. All individuals involved in online discussions about the game's development issues suddenly ceased, publicly declaring it all a humorous joke for entertainment.
Days passed, and people no longer suspected anything about the game's secrecy or the Constella Project. Some, however, were infuriated by those who had previously jested for content. The Constella Project remained a company shrouded in confidentiality. What was truly happening?
"Click."
The sudden sound of shifting rocks marked Art's return to consciousness. His fingers twitched, and his awareness slowly seeped back.
"?"
Confused, he initially believed he had entered the afterlife. But as Art opened his eyes, the extent of the destruction before him made his eyes widen.
"Huh?"
He tried to survey his surroundings, but a sharp pain in his neck made it impossible.
"Ugh…" The first sensation was an overwhelming pain coursing through his entire body. He clutched his hand as agony radiated to every limb. He looked at the spatial ring on his hand and accessed his inventory.
[Item:
-Blue crystal sword (1) 'FrostSworik-zero' A-RANK
-Cooked meat (2)
-Healing potion (1)-1 "Heals most of the wounds." (Serious wounds are not healable.)
-Mana potion (2) "Restore all the used mana." (Wouldn't work on an over-exhausted body.) ]
He grabbed the last healing potion from his spatial ring, his body screaming in agony. It became even more painful as he struggled to get the potion to his mouth, lying on the ground amidst the chunks of stone dislodged during the fight with the minotaur. Some of the healing liquid spilled, but Art managed to drink the rest, his body still wracked with pain.
He lay still, not daring to move as the potion began to take effect. The intense pain slowly subsided as minor injuries healed, though major ones remained.
He gazed at his surroundings in awe—the houses were encased in massive, white crystals, everywhere. Glancing at the night sky, a vast white crystal covered the entire expanse, completely blocking the everlasting spatial crack. He looked left and right, seeing only pure devastation in the village, wondering why he was still alive.
'Perhaps..' he faintly muttered, remembering a human figure in the sky just before he lost consciousness. It could only mean one thing—perhaps that mysterious human had saved him and caused the destruction to the village.
He looked at the white crystals, shining brightly under the moonlight.
[0:24 minutes before sunrise. ]
He stared speechless at the notification beside him.
"What?"
He was surprised he'd been unconscious for nine straight hours. It was peculiar; there were no more unknown creatures in the village's vicinity, not even in the sky—they had mysteriously vanished without a trace.
.
"...." He couldn't help but be surprised, and at the same time, glad there was no longer a threat.
But he couldn't be entirely sure. There was still a possibility of danger, but for now, he just needed to recover from the immense damage to his body and wait for the sun to rise.
Art slowly rose from the ground and walked towards the fountain in the center. Activating his Wisdom Eye, everything in the village lit up as his eyes gradually turned bright cyan.
[ Fountain of unwavering souls. ]
"!"
He hadn't expected any information to appear, but surprisingly, it had mysteriously worked. Something had changed in this world.
"What the heck, something's really going on here?" he said, looking at his surroundings, now filled with information.
[ Ruined Vellio village. —The holy sanctuary of babylon>Other world. ]
It seemed he truly was in another world; too many strange things here defied real-world rules.
"Holy sanctuary?" This place was steeped in mystery.
'What really happened here?' Art had many questions, with no answers in sight. It seemed likely this place had been attacked by some monster, similar to the one that attacked him—though these were just Art's speculations.
Looking at the sky, Art tried to read the vibrant white crystal that had appeared, but any information attempting to reach his brain was blocked by some kind of magic. He suddenly felt a slight headache.
"Tsk." Deactivating his Wisdom Eye, his body hadn't fully healed yet—it was better to be more careful using it from now on.
Art began to survey the entire ruined village. Vivid memories of the fights lingered in his mind as he observed the faint traces left by the massive destruction.
He walked around the entire village, hoping to find a clue about its past, but failed miserably to find any useful information about the village or the world he was in. After several minutes of non-stop walking, Art checked the time remaining before sunrise. The dark sky was gradually fading as faint sunlight reached the village.
[0:3 minutes before sunrise. ]
Art leaped onto a nearby wall to witness the sunrise he hadn't seen for hours. He noticed there were no animals or creatures in this other world, only a vast forest and the ruined village. Perched atop the wall, some forty to fifty feet above ground level, he watched.
A gentle, wavering light moved across the vast land as the sun slowly dispelled the darkness lingering over the entire forest and village. An ethereal glow radiated across the vast, empty land of wonders.
[ 00:00 ]
Art watched as the timer reached its final count to zero, continuing to gaze at the exquisite view of the village and the forest on the horizon. A sudden notification appeared before him, leaving him dumbfounded.
[ Congratulations on surviving the first trial. ]
[ The system will be rewarding Art Devion for his bravery and courage. ]
[ Following rewards:
Skill points- (200)
High tier weapon selector
System upgrade
Ancient Magic element
Reward for killing "Void minotaur(extremely weakened)"
Memoria's Persona ]
Art was utterly flabbergasted by the sheer value of the rewards he received. Just thinking about it made him believe all the suffering he'd endured—the pain, broken bones, and major injuries—was worth it. He grinned slightly at the magnificent sight before him.
[(200) Skill points have been delivered to your status record. ]
[ High tier weapon selection:
Void—Ponifix of Nihility>Recommendation
Glacial—Ice Sovereign
Inferno—Hell sovereign
Heavens—Transcendance
> All of the sword is weakened until the user reaches a specific level.
> Sword matched the player stats. ]
It didn't matter how much they nerfed the swords; these were Calamity-level, Catastrophe-level weapons.
Art remembered all of them. They had been sealed after the Great Gods War, mentioned in the late game of the story. If he acquired one, his chances of surviving in this transmigration survival world would skyrocket. He couldn't help but smile. He looked at the recommendation. It seemed the system was guiding him, but he couldn't fully trust it. He possessed knowledge of the swords and their elements, and Art tried to recall details from his memory archives.
"Ah…"
He remembered. Elements were balanced in the game; elements were equal as long as the user's affinity for the magic was equal. When one user fought another, the one with the higher elemental affinity would win. As he recalled, Art Devion in the game had 80% potential for void magic, 10% for heaven's magic, and lastly, 10% for lightning magic. With this game knowledge, the system was most likely telling the truth.
Art Devion looked at the notification and clicked the void element sword, a high-tier sword from the ancient era where gods were destroyed.
[ VOID—Ponifix of Nihility >will be in stored in your spatial ring. ]
[ System has been upgraded to lv 3. ]
[ Random Ancient magic elements have been randomly selected for the user. ]
Ancient?! He couldn't quite believe the notification as he read it.
[ "Atomic:Starlium" Magic element have been given to Art devion. ]
Atomic:Starlium? He'd never heard of atomic and star magic elements in the game before; it was probably not mentioned in the story. On the other hand, he thought the name was kinda cool.
[ Memoria's Persona: "Arceus Niva, Sphyliem" memories have been transferred to the spatial ring. ]
[ All the reward distributions have been finished > Returning to the world has started. ]
"!"
The wall he was standing on and the sun that had already risen were slowly engulfed by darkness as his vision gradually collapsed.