WebNovels

Chapter 59 - NATASHA

"It's rare to see you two leaving the village," Loli remarked, turning her head toward Liora and Sally, who were walking curiously behind the main group.

"We're women too, you know?" Liora replied proudly, placing her hands on her hips and puffing out her chest slightly, as if that alone justified their presence.

Her statement earned a knowing smile from the others.

Sally, for her part, had decided to come out because she wanted to show the forest to her mother. Until now, Linda had only seen the village. And while the forest was dark and dangerous without Lua leading the way, Sally felt a little safer with so many players around. After all, if they died… they'd just respawn at the entrance.

That's what she kept telling herself.

The first thing they did was help Natasha and Polly get their first forms. It wasn't hard—each just had to hunt a rabbit to trigger the initial evolution. For some reason, both of them ended up with the exact same race.

🌿 STATUS PANEL – NATASHA

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Name: Natasha

Level: 1 | Race Level: 0

Race: Pixie (Magic Type – Control / Support)

Title: —

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STATS

HP: 100

Mana: 247 (200 base + 7.5 × INT)

Damage: 1

Defense: 1

STR: 2 | RES: 3

INT: 6

AGI: 3

DEX: 1

LCK: 9

EXP: 0 / 100

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SKILLS

✨ Glimmer Dust – Level 1

Type: Buff (Area)

Mana: 20 MP | Cooldown: 12 s | EXP to Lv. 2: 100

Effect: Creates a sparkling dust cloud that grants +10% movement speed and +5% mana regeneration to nearby allies for 6 seconds.

Bonus: Allies affected by the dust become 10% harder to detect while moving.

✨ Mischief Spark – Level 1

Type: Debuff (Mental – Light)

Mana: 15 MP | Cooldown: 12 s | EXP to Lv. 2: 100

Effect: Creates a dazzling flash that briefly confuses one enemy, reducing their accuracy by 25% and causing random movement for 2.5 seconds.

Bonus: If the target is already affected by another debuff, this skill lasts 1 second longer.

"Why did you pick the same form as Natasha?" Loli asked, looking at Polly with curiosity.

"We entered the game together… so I guess that makes us kind of sisters, right?" Polly replied naturally, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Meanwhile, Natasha was staring at her new hands with a mix of awe and confusion. They were tiny, even for her small body—barely ten centimeters tall. She floated just above the ground, moving as if guided by the wind itself.

"Why can they fly… and we, who also have wings, can't?" Sig murmured, watching as the pixies' wings fluttered gently.

"I can fly," Liora said suddenly. She lifted off the ground with grace, her wings glowing softly and lighting up the area around her. She hovered effortlessly above the others.

The winged girls stared at her in surprise.

"How do you do that?" Sig asked immediately. After all, she had wings too… though she had never used them.

Loli, on the other hand, was floating without wings. It wasn't quite flight—it was more like her body simply ignored gravity by racial design.

"You just have to move them," Liora said, as if explaining something obvious.

There was a moment of silence. All the winged girls looked at each other… and then Julia blinked.

"Wait… yeah, that makes sense," she said, glancing down at her own arms. She flapped them with effort, concentrating, and managed to lift herself just a few centimeters before falling again with an awkward thump.

"But yours are on your back!" Sig protested, pointing at Liora's wings. "I don't even know how to control that! It's like trying to move a muscle I didn't know I had."

"You'll have to practice," Loli said with a smile, still effortlessly floating.

"Cheater," Sig grumbled, lunging at her in a playful attack, which sparked laughter all around.

The noise echoed among the trees.

Not too far away, the boys—Joe and the others—were silently fighting a group of rabbits. Upon hearing the girls' laughter, they simply sighed, unsure of what to say.

"Since we're already here, we should explore more," Sig suggested with a glint of excitement. "It'd be better during the day… but dying together is a great way to build friendship."

"D-Dying?!" Natasha squealed, clearly alarmed.

"Blood bond," Sig said with total seriousness.

"Come on, it's just a game. If we die, we respawn at the village entrance," Loli added, walking casually.

"We lose a level," she followed up immediately.

Several of them stopped in their tracks.

"Whatever… let's teach the newbies how the real world works!" Sig insisted, marching ahead once more.

After a couple of hours, Liora lit the path with a magical lamp tied to her head. The group pushed deeper, weakening monsters and gaining a level or two. Their steps grew lighter with every laugh shared.

Until…

"Hey, what's that?" Loli asked suddenly, pointing ahead.

A dark portal, slowly swirling, hovered among the trees.

"Oh. That's the portal I came through before," Natasha said calmly.

"You said you walked for hours. We're literally minutes from the village," Sig replied, looking back in confusion.

"We didn't stray far from the rabbit zone," Linda murmured.

"Maybe… I walked in circles," Natasha admitted, slightly embarrassed.

"You think Lua's in there?" Loli asked, eyes sparkling with interest.

"Let's find out," Sig answered without hesitation.

"But if those men are in there… they'll kill us for sure," Natasha whispered, stepping back as the memory of that hostile aura came flooding back.

"Don't worry. We leveled up, and I'm curious about Lua's story," Sig said with a grin. "According to Liora and Sally, she fought a giant serpent. Destroyed everything!"

"Then… let's go in," Loli said eagerly.

And so, one by one, the girls stepped through the portal without much hesitation.

A few minutes later, Joe and the rest of the boys looked at each other… and silently followed, as if they already knew the real chaos was about to begin.

The moment they crossed the portal, the girls froze.

What they saw was pure chaos.

The ground was shattered, as if a storm of blades had torn through the forest. Trees lay broken, flames devoured dry branches, craters from recent explosions marked the soil, and glowing magical scars etched the earth. And at the center of it all… was her.

Lua.

Kneeling, with a spear pierced through her chest. Her face was pale, blood-covered. Around her stood two figures: the same mocking old man they had seen before, and behind him, two young men—one red-haired, missing an arm, and the other with a chest wound slowly closing thanks to sacred magic.

"I don't know why you came, insect," muttered the old man as he approached Lua with disdain. "You'd have lived longer had you stayed out of it. We only came for an item. Your life… your death… doesn't matter to me. But since you got in the way, you have to die. A pity. You were disgustingly persistent."

"NO!" Liora screamed, rushing forward, but Sig grabbed her tightly.

"No! If Lua dies… she won't come back! She said it herself!" Liora cried, struggling through tears.

The tension snapped like glass.

Loli raised both hands, releasing a brilliant star that shot straight at the old man. But he turned calmly and deflected the spell with a casual swipe, as if brushing aside a leaf on the wind.

"Oh, more flies," he muttered, bored, as he noticed the rest of the group. "How annoying. I already found what I came for and was about to leave… but perhaps I'll take some of you. The scientists will be pleased. They pay well."

The girls didn't hesitate. Even without fully understanding their powers, they activated them at once—spells, curses, vines, and beams of energy surged through the air in a frenzy of light, smoke, and sound.

But the old man didn't move.

The attacks landed… yet did no harm. He smiled, almost amused.

At that moment, the rest of the group arrived through the portal: Joe, Dean, Bert, Steve, Silver, Segler, Tom, and Tim. Upon seeing the scene—and Lua covered in blood—they launched into battle without hesitation.

"Get Lua out of there!" Sig shouted.

Joe was the first to charge. His body grew, and his gauntlets crackled with energy. But before he could reach her, the enemy swordsman appeared in front of him and stopped his punch with one hand.

The redhead, despite missing an arm, raised his weapon with the other, aiming for Joe's head. But Dean appeared behind him, dagger ready to strike.

The blade bounced off the man's skin without leaving a mark.

"This is it? These are the ones left?" the redhead scoffed. "They don't even have aura."

He pulled the trigger.

The blast tore off Joe's arm. Before he could even scream, the swordsman spun and drove him into the ground with a crushing kick, knocking him out instantly.

"Alive," ordered the old man, voice sharp. "Don't kill them. I want to see what they're hiding."

Meanwhile, golden light descended upon Lua. Liora, desperate, poured her healing magic over her nonstop, tears soaking her face. Sally hurled curses and debuffs at the old man—none worked. Linda's vines crumbled before reaching him. Loli's spells were swatted away with a single hand.

"They're like insects… Your attacks don't even scratch me. You'd need a demigod just to make me flinch. I'm an Ascended."

The old man raised the spear.

And drove it into Lua's chest again.

"NO!" cried Liora and Loli in unison. The latter, burning with fury, raised her hands and unleashed her Starfall Ray. A pure stellar beam rained down on the battlefield… but the old man hurled his spear, which pierced the light and embedded itself in Loli's abdomen, cutting off her spell instantly.

The spear spun back through the air and returned to his hand.

From the forest, a wave of slimes charged toward him. Edward grinned, hopeful.

But the old man exhaled.

The grass surged like obedient spears, impaling every slime in an explosion of bubbles. All were wiped out in seconds.

Edward stood frozen.

Liora stood motionless, hands glowing with light, as Lua's body—now lifeless—began to dissolve into dust.

The swordsman moved through the players like a shadow, knocking them out with surgical precision. One blow to the neck. No kills—just bodies collapsing, one after another.

Loli was the only one still standing.

Wounded. Bleeding.

But unmoving.

The old man looked at her with a touch of ironic respect.

"So the weak ones are the last to stand. How ironic… Two hundred years ago, you faced three demigods without one of your own. Today, you can't even touch me. But I'll admit it… your powers are interesting. A blend of art, magic, and will."

Loli wasn't listening.

She could only see Lua.

Lua, who wasn't coming back. Lua, whose silhouette faded before her eyes, leaving no trace. As if the world itself absorbed her.

"First time seeing one of your own die?" the old man asked, watching the final sparks vanish. "Strange, isn't it? No body. No items. It's like they were never here. Maybe their clothes are part of their power?"

He turned away.

"Rob, stop playing. Grab her. We're leaving."

But before he could take a step, the ground trembled.

A deep rumble echoed across the clearing. The leaves shook. The trees shuddered.

The old man froze and frowned.

Something… was coming.

"Mmm…" he murmured, raising his eyes to the sky. A light—a brilliant light—was descending at impossible speed, like a falling star, streaking toward them in a straight line.

His eyes widened in panic.

"No… No, it can't be."

He stepped back.

"They weren't supposed to have one! Why didn't it appear that day!?"

His voice trembled.

"You two—RUN! Warn the Lord! I'll stop her… or try to!"

"What's wrong with you, old man?" asked the redhead, confused, still staring at the light.

"RUN!" the old man roared, and for the first time, his full armor activated. Golden plates encased his body, radiating blinding light from head to toe. Until now, he hadn't even used a tenth of his power… he had been toying with them.

And yet, in that moment… he was trembling.

The light that had raced toward them like a spear suddenly… vanished.

It disappeared from the sky like it had never existed.

The swordsman turned slowly. His eyes widened in shock.

The redhead froze.

And the old man, feeling a chill down his spine, turned around.

There she was.

Floating in the air above them, Lua descended slowly.

But she was no longer the same.

Her hair, once blue, was now entirely black, gleaming like ink under the light of a hidden sun. Her eyes burned like embers, and crimson horns glowed with living energy. Behind her floated a large golden circle etched with sacred, ancient lines—the symbol of her rank.

A divine aura enveloped her. Intimidating. Silent. Unbreakable.

"Demigod…" the old man murmured, recognizing the sign behind her.

A symbol possessed by only five people in the entire Human Empire.

"Run," he repeated, this time with a trembling voice.

But it was already too late.

Lua vanished in an instant… and reappeared behind the redhead.

There were no screams.

Only the sound of steel slicing through flesh.

Her sword cut clean through his body, from back to chest. The redhead dropped to his knees before he even understood what had happened.

The swordsman turned, trying to flee, but the moment he moved, his body was cleaved in two. Not just him—the trees, the very air around him were slashed in an arc that obliterated dozens of meters in every direction. The ground was engraved with a perfect line, as if existence itself had been split.

The old man was drenched in sweat. His body trembled.

He stared at the woman he had faced just moments ago.

"That was… a clone. That was a damn clone!" he cried, voice cracking.

"My master is a demigod!" he shouted, stumbling backward. "I'm an imperial guard! Of the Human Empire! If you kill me, they'll come for me! And when they do… they'll find you! They'll destroy you, just like the rest of your kind!"

His armor flared with its full power.

But Lua had already written a single rune in the air. Just one.

One word, floating in blood-red script.

The rune exploded.

From it came a roar, like the cry of a stellar dragon.

A surge of red energy swept through everything—the old man, the earth beneath him, the trees, the rocks… and miles behind him. All of it was obliterated. Erased.

Nothing remained.

Only a searing scar etched into the land, as if the gods themselves had carved it with fire.

The demonic beasts that had been in the path of the blast were disintegrated without a trace. Not even bones. Only silence… and ash.

Lua descended, still floating, wrapped in an aura so dense that even gravity seemed to avoid her. Her emotionless gaze swept across the battlefield, observing the unconscious players.

She raised one hand.

One by one, their bodies began to float.

Including the humans who had been left behind.

From her inventory, she took out a Return Stone.

While her clone had fought and fallen, she had finished assembling the Return Totem using the materials the players had gathered. And now, the moment she felt the death of her other half—because they shared everything—she understood what had happened. She knew there was no escaping it.

Because that was always the truth: Lua was two.

One of her went outside.

The other stayed… to protect her mother.

And that was why the real one was never far away. Because when she entered the forest, the beasts did everything in their power to stop her.

She pressed the stone.

A beam of light enveloped them all.

And in the blink of an eye, they vanished from that place.

Just as the true threats arrived.

From every corner of the forest, drawn by the explosion of mana, came dragons, manticores, chimeras, draconic lions, and other beasts whose power would make even an elite general tremble. The entire high-level fauna had gathered, pulled by some primal instinct.

In the middle of the now-empty field… only a white stag remained.

Its crystalline antlers gleamed with divine majesty.

The stag looked at the remnants of devastation. Then, lifting a single hoof, it closed the dark portal with a single step, dissolving it as if it had never existed.

And without making a sound, it walked away, calmly, through the sea of beasts—who parted before it as if a king were passing among them.

Nothing remained there.

Only silence… and the echo of true power.

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