chapter one
637 Words
A sharp, piercing alert cut through Ares’s eardrum. It wasn’t a standard digital ping; it was a cold, metallic resonance that vibrated deep within his skull, like a nail being driven into bone.
Ares opened his eyes, struggling against a wave of nausea. He expected to see the familiar ceiling of his room, covered in gaming posters, or the soft glow of his PC monitor that had kept him company until 4:00 AM. Instead, he was greeted by a sight that stole the air from his lungs: a sky of deep violet, streaked with permanent golden threads, and a dense forest of massive trees with silvery bark and leaves that pulsed with a faint, ghostly blue light.
"Where... where am I?" he whispered. His own voice sounded strange—deeper, sharper, more resolute than he remembered.
Suddenly, a translucent digital screen manifested in the air before him, flickering with jagged, crimson borders.
[WARNING: Consciousness has been successfully transferred to the 'Aethelgard' system. Connection cannot be undone.]
[User: Ares]
[Level: 1]
[Class: Soul Summoner (Rare)]
[Status: Trapped]
"Is this a prank? Some next-level VR tech?" Ares laughed nervously, swiping his hand through the air to find a 'Logout' or 'Exit' button. His hand passed through the interface like smoke. A new message slid into view, its words dripping with chilling indifference:
[IMPORTANT REMINDER: Death within Aethelgard signifies the complete erasure of consciousness in the physical world. No save points. No second chances. Survive, or face the void.]
His body went rigid. A sudden icy numbness surged through his veins. This wasn't a game; it was a digital execution chamber.
He scanned his surroundings and found himself in the ruins of an ancient, abandoned village. The place was teeming with people—some were collapsing in tears, others were screaming in panic, while a few stood frozen like statues, staring at their own personal screens in pure terror.
Ares didn't waste time on panic. Fear was the first enemy in any game. He took a deep breath, forcing his professional gamer mindset to take control, and opened his skill menu. There was only one skill at Level 1: [Primordial Summon].
"I can’t wait for a miracle here," he muttered, tightening his boots and assessing the perimeter. He headed toward the edge of the forest. In every game, the beginning was the grind—strength wasn't earned through tears, but through the hunt.
At the edge of the woods, where shadows danced with eerie intent, something lunged from the brush. It was a 'Forest Rat,' the size of a large hound, its eyes burning with a crimson glow and fangs protruding from its jaw in a jagged, terrifying snarl. It let out a guttural growl, saliva hitting the grass and sizzling as if acidic.
Ares took a step back, his heart hammering against his ribs, but his mind remained as cold as machine code. He raised his hand toward the beast, and a faint, electric blue energy coiled around his fingers like spectral spiderwebs.
"If this is the new world," Ares whispered, his eyes gleaming with unyielding resolve, "then I’ll be the one to write the rules."
[Skill Activated: Primordial Summon!]
The beast pounced like an arrow, jaws wide. In that fraction of a second, Ares stopped seeing a monster; he saw numbers, attack vectors, and hitboxes. He ducked with practiced precision, feeling the beast’s hot, rancid breath brush against his cheek. As the creature slammed into the earth, Ares slammed his glowing fingers into the air, tethering his energy to the creature's core.
"You're mine now," Ares commanded.
A blue spark erupted from his fingertips, latching onto the beast's essence. The first battle had begun, and there was no turning back.
- Writer
