At the same time, unknown to Zach—who was currently struggling to endure the pain of his bloodline awakening—he wasn't the only one pulled into the cruel game world of Calamity's Crown – Valeria. Alongside him, about a thousand others from Earth had also been summoned.
It all happened just around the time Zach's monitor exploded, killing him and triggering his transfer. Across different parts of the world, about a thousand people suddenly received a strange notification that appeared in glowing red text:
> [Congratulations, lesser lifeform.]
[You have been randomly selected from your primitive world to take part in a grand design far beyond your understanding.]
[Rejoice — for you now bear the honor of serving a higher purpose.]
[Prepare for transfer…]
And just like that, they were all forcefully pulled away from their world.
Now, at the exact moment Zach was awakening his bloodline, those other summoned people had just arrived. They found themselves standing in a vast, endless void. There was no ground beneath them, yet they could stand. No sky above, yet the space shimmered with a ghostly pale light stretching on forever. Everything was quiet—until the chaos began.
"What the helly?!" someone shouted, followed by several gasps, shrieks, and confused yells as people took in their bizarre surroundings and the sea of strangers around them.
"Fuck!" a young man screamed, eyes wide in shock. He was stark naked, with his boxers down to his knees—clearly dragged in mid-toilet break. He scrambled to cover himself, completely embarrassed. But strangely, no one laughed. After all, he wasn't the only one.
The summoning had been so sudden, no one had time to react. One moment, a red holographic screen appeared in front of them, and the next—they were here. Thousands of people from all over the world, doing different things: cooking, sleeping, showering, even using the toilet. Some were only half-dressed. Others were in messy home clothes. A few were lucky enough to be decently dressed. But most looked disheveled, confused, and out of place.
The noise grew louder. Shouting, whispering, crying—until a voice cut through it all like a blade.
"Silence."
The voice was beautiful, graceful, and terrifying. It was soft, yet carried a powerful authority that demanded immediate obedience. All thousand people froze. Their hearts trembled as the sound passed through them. Slowly, heads turned to follow the voice—until they saw her.
A woman. No—a goddess.
She floated above them, radiating divine energy from every part of her being. She wore a thin white garment that hugged her curvy figure, revealing more than it hid. Her long crimson hair floated around her, moving as if underwater, though there was no wind here. Her glowing white eyes scanned the crowd with an intense divine light, her gaze both beautiful and terrifying. Her entire presence overflowed with charm, power, and an otherworldly allure. Every eye—male and female—was drawn to her, captivated.
There was complete silence as she began to speak.
"You have been summoned from the crude, mana-starved rock you call Earth," she said, her voice echoing throughout the void. It was calm, cold, and noble. "Consider this your greatest opportunity—to ascend. You shall enter the world of Valeria, where power beyond imagination awaits you."
Silence followed. Then someone in the crowd hesitantly spoke.
"Wait… Valeria? As in… that Valeria?"
The goddess gave a knowing smile and nodded. "Yes. The same Valeria from the little game you played on Earth. It was never fiction. Valeria is real—and now, it will be your new reality."
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Some people stood frozen. Others turned pale.
They didn't doubt her—how could they? All of them were gamers, fantasy lovers, novel readers. They had read and watched scenarios like this before. Some had even dreamed about it. At first, many of them were excited. After all, this looked exactly like a typical fantasy isekai setup.
But the moment they heard Valeria, that excitement died down.
Everyone here had one thing in common—they had all played Calamity's Crown, the brutal RPG known for its extreme difficulty and hopeless endgame.
While most of them had played the game during its peak and quit later when the difficulty became too much, all of them still remembered one thing—Valeria was not the kind of world anyone dreamed of being summoned to.
This wasn't the fantasy world filled with magic, adventure, or wonder. This wasn't a place of dreams. Valeria was a world of cruelty and destruction, a nightmare wearing a beautiful mask. It was like a gaping maw with jagged teeth shaped as calamities, where one mistake meant instant death. A world where even surviving was a challenge.
"Nope. Hell no!" someone shouted from the crowd, and many silently agreed.
A man in his forties stepped forward, angry. "Send me back! I had a perfect life—a good job, a lovely wife, two kids! I don't want this madness!" His face twisted with rage. "You can keep your so-called opportunity. I want Earth!"
The goddess turned toward the man. With a small wave of her hand, a golden flame flickered from her fingertip and shot through the air.
The flame touched the man's chest, and instantly—he screamed.
Golden fire consumed him in seconds, burning not with heat but with divine judgment. His body disintegrated into glittering particles, vanishing without a trace.
Silence fell. Not just quiet—but a thick, heavy silence filled with fear.
"Any other objections?" the goddess asked coldly, her glowing eyes sweeping over the stunned crowd.
No one moved. No one dared to speak.
She smiled again, pleased. "Good. Then we shall proceed. Before your journey begins, your bloodlines must awaken. But first, is there are any questions?…"
She looked over the group.
There was a long pause. Most people were still frozen, shocked after seeing someone die faster than a rage-quitter leaving a match.
Then, a soft voice called from the back.
"Um, excuse me," said a chubby lady in oversized pajamas, raising a hand. "If we're getting new bloodlines… does that mean we can, like… change how we look too?"
All heads turned to her—not because of the question—but because everyone recognized that voice.
FairyGoddess209.
She was a well-known streamer, famous for her incredibly beautiful voice. Many people in the crowd had been fans, some even donors. Her streams had millions of views—but she never showed her face. Everyone had imagined her as a stunning beauty.
Now… they were stunned for a different reason.
Some of her fanboys looked devastated. A few were even visibly frustrated. But after seeing what happened to the last guy who spoke rudely, none of them dared to say a word and could only grit their teeth on rage.
The goddess blinked, then gave a playful smile. "Of course. After your awakening, your bodies will evolve into the peak of their potential."
FairyGoddess209's eyes lit up. "So… I'll get prettier?"
The goddess licked her lips in an oddly sultry way and purred, "Oh, much prettier. Charm, grace… a body to match your inner strength. But that is just the beginning."
Then her expression grew serious again.
"The real gift is power. Each of you has been granted a high-tier bloodline chosen based on your soul. This strength is what you will need to survive in Valeria… and complete your task."
A handsome young man stepped forward. He had a sharp jawline, blonde hair, and proud eyes.
"What task?" he asked.
The goddess's smile returned. "You already know."
And they did.
The Calamities.
Their task was to defeat them.
Another voice, quieter and nervous, asked, "What happens if… we fail?"
The goddess's smile disappeared. Her aura shifted—dark, heavy, threatening.
"You won't dare to."
The tone of her voice made it clear—failure was not an option.
And with another graceful wave of her hand, light swept over the thousand figures. One by one, they vanished—transported to separate secret spaces across dimensions, to undergo their bloodline awakening.
Each person feeling a wave of anxiety. Bloodline awakening wasn't a gift. It was a trial—one that could kill them. The pain was extreme, the risk of death high. But the reward... was power.
So, as they vanished, each one was filled with a mix of fear and anticipation.
The goddess watched quietly as the last figure faded. Then, she turned to leave.
But something stopped her.
Far at the edge of the void, the space shimmered unnaturally. Two thin cracks—dimensional rifts—hung in the air, flickering faintly.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Strange," she muttered. "I only opened one."
Someone had used the other.
Her glowing eyes narrowed further. Her divine aura pulsed with pressure.
Who had dared to interfere with her summoning?
She quickly considered the possibility of other gods—but most of them wouldn't dare move against her, especially for something like this. So who did this?
A cold glint passed through her eyes. With a simple motion, she closed both rifts.
And then, without another word, she vanished from the space as well.