Might of Players

---Viktor's POV---

I watched intently as the threads of light on the glowing orb stood on end, reminding me distinctly of a nervous schoolchild being called on in class, trembling before their teacher.

"I... I am a divine fragment who..." The orb's light flickered erratically. "Who rebelled against... no, who chose to... or was it..."

Pathetic. I watched as it struggled to string even basic sentences together.

"The Great Divine War led to... or maybe it started with..." The orb's glow dimmed further. "There was definitely a betrayal involved... I think?"

Each attempted explanation was more nonsensical than the last. The orb's voice grew smaller with each failure, until it was barely more than a whisper.

"Something about the gods' faction wanting to... or was that the other side?"

I could almost feel secondhand embarrassment from watching its pitiful performance. Here was a supposedly divine being, reduced to mumbling half-formed thoughts like a student who hadn't studied for their presentation.

"They don't even understand what I say, so why should I have to memorize this stuff?" the glowing orb muttered, its tone lacking any real conviction.

This was true, after all—there was no shared language between the worlds of Earth and Aeltia. Only I could bridge the gap in communication between the two sides, acting as the necessary mediator.

I had only established a mental imprint with Edgar, carefully enabling him to understand what the players said as long as he remained within a certain range of me.

Although I had also signed a contract with the glowing orb, I didn't trust it one bit. I had never even mentioned the concept of a mental imprint, making it painfully obvious that I was guarding against it.

I suddenly leaned in close, my skeletal face mere inches from the orb as I spoke in a dangerous, threatening tone, "Oh? So you didn't remember anything at all?"

"I-I mean... that is..."

The glowing orb jolted jolted in absolute fright at the sudden proximity of my skull, instinctively shooting several meters backward before coming to a shaky, unsteady stop. It clutched its metaphorical heart, looking as though it had narrowly escaped the Grim Reaper himself.

But reflecting deeply on the events of the past few days, the orb seemed to come to a bold conclusion: I appeared hesitant to ascend to godhood directly, yet clearly placed great value on the power of divine essence.

This meant that, as a self-aware divine fragment, it was absolutely critical to me.

Even though its life was in my hands, it seemed to believe I wouldn't dare make any reckless moves.

"Anyway, I can't even make out what they're saying. When it happens, I'll just act like I never heard anything. Isn't that what you said?"

I had indeed instructed Edgar to ignore the players' occasional outbursts, and this rule naturally applied to the glowing orb as well. However, since the orb couldn't understand anything to begin with, it conveniently didn't have to respond at all.

Perfect for it.

Its tiny green eyes darted toward me now and then, eagerly awaiting my reaction with growing anticipation.

But I simply lost interest entirely, abruptly returning to my original position without sparing it so much as a passing glance.

Edgar glanced carefully at me, then at the glowing orb, which seemed momentarily dumbfounded by my response.

"You're just going to ignore it now?" he asked in an even, completely detached tone.

I casually pulled out a pitch-black mage robe from my storage space and began putting it on as I replied with indifference, "No need. Like it said, it doesn't understand anything. Let it stay quiet and act as a mascot."

I spoke lightly, but Edgar understood perfectly that this statement effectively severed any possibility of the glowing orb communicating with the players.

From Edgar's perspective, this should be a welcome outcome. Divine fragments were inherently dangerous, and keeping the orb as a passive tool minimized potential risks significantly.

After a brief pause, he remained silent, offering no further objection to my decision.

---Logan's POV---

Ding ding ding!

Smack!

I groggily crawled out of bed and checked my phone with bleary eyes. "Crap! It's 7:50 AM. Why did I set my alarm for 8:00?"

Muttering to myself in frustration, I tossed my phone aside and flopped back onto my bed heavily.

Five minutes later, I bolted upright suddenly.

"Wait a minute! Today's the launch of the Chronicles of Aeltia beta test!"

Snatching up the clothes on my bed hurriedly, I jumped over to my gaming setup in just a few excited strides.

Sitting in the middle of my computer and gaming peripherals was a sleek, futuristic silver-and-black helmet—the gaming headset I'd received just yesterday.

Thanks to my enthusiastic friend "ProGamer_Daddy" verifying its safety thoroughly, I felt completely confident in using it. My excitement for the game was at an absolute all-time high.

According to his detailed explanation, the back of the headset contained an indecipherable core encoder that likely tied into the game's core mechanics.

I could hardly contain my anticipation. If the game company had gone to such extraordinary lengths to ensure secrecy, the game had to be something truly extraordinary.

And it was too late for second thoughts anyway.

Placing the helmet carefully on my head, I was greeted by a countdown on the dark screen before my eyes.

Three minutes remained until launch.

[Connection initializing. Please remain still.]

"Phew! Barely made it!"

I sighed deeply in relief and watched eagerly as the timer ticked down second by second.

Finally, the countdown hit zero.

And then…

A faint but distinct suction sensation emanated from the back of my head, before everything went black. 

Out of nowhere, I was lying on something cold and hard.

Opening my eyes slowly, I saw a white cathedral ceiling towering above me. A strange scent, both bloody and herbal, wafted to my nose unexpectedly.

"Did I just… transmigrate? No, wait—I'm in the game, right?!"

Disbelievingly, I sat up and looked down at my hands in wonder.

The light! The texture! The smell! The sensation!

This was exactly what I had always dreamed of in a virtual reality game.

Caressing my own hands in amazement, I was so completely overwhelmed that I began to cry uncontrollably. "Waaaah! A real VR game! Finally!"

"Ahhh! A pervert! Help!"

A terrified scream pierced my ears suddenly, the high-pitched tone even breaking into a dolphin-like squeal.

I blinked rapidly through my tears and turned to see a handsome young man staring at me in absolute horror.

From the clarity—and utter stupidity—in the man's gaze, I instantly recognized him as another player without doubt. Considering there were only three beta testers total, I tentatively asked, "ProGamer_Daddy?"

The handsome young man's fear shifted immediately to surprise. "Bro, is that you, NeverShowOff? Thank god it's you!"

After confirming my identity completely, the young man let out a huge sigh of relief.

"You scared the crap out of me!" he shuddered visibly. "I wake up in this weird place, and the first thing I see is you crying and..." He gestured vaguely. "No offense bro, but watching some grown man caressing himself and sobbing like that... I thought I'd woken up in some horror game!"

I coughed awkwardly, feeling embarrassed. "This is my first time playing a game like this. I got a little carried away, okay?"

"I get it! Let me tell you—this game is absolutely insane! The blood smells completely real, the visuals are absolutely stunning, the dirt even tastes perfectly earthy!"

"Wait, why are you tasting dirt?" I asked, but he was too excited to hear me.

He laughed sheepishly. "Oh, that... I kind of tripped and fell face-first when I spawned in. But that's not important! The point is, you can feel and taste everything!"

"And even the sensation of suffocation is so incredibly realistic it's crazy. We're actually playing a real virtual reality game!"

"Ok... what?" As I listened carefully, my eyes drifted to ProGamer_Daddy's obviously undersized clothing—and more specifically, to the faint but visible marks around his neck.

My expression grew increasingly complicated.

"So… have you thought about why you're able to feel the sensation of being choked?"

"Ah?"

I watched as he belatedly looked down and tugged at his collar, his face scrunching up with discomfort.

"Damn, what era is this outfit from? Why is it so small? It's like a torture device!"

After pulling at it, a dark purple strangulation mark was already visible on his neck. It looked as though he had been hanging for quite a while.

The quality of the clothes turned out to be surprisingly good—he tugged several times but couldn't physically tear the collar apart.

Seeing this, I immediately stepped forward to help.

"Don't worry, let me try!"

He stopped me. "No, don't move!"

Bang!

Before he could finish speaking, I fell face-first onto the ground, tangled in the excessive fabric of my pants.

I picked up the pant legs, which were longer than both my legs combined, my mind full of confusion.

"Who are these pants even made for? Not even a giraffe could fit into pants this long!"

ProGamer_Daddy chuckled awkwardly, trying not to laugh too hard at my predicament.

"Ahaha, seems like this game's starter outfit isn't very friendly to us newbies, haha. Careful there, shorty!"

Suddenly—

A low, heavy voice came from the side.

"Let me do it."

Rip!

The pant legs, which had been like steel wires in my hands, tore apart effortlessly. The muscular player made it look as easy as tearing paper.

After dealing with the pants, the newcomer also helped ProGamer_Daddy open the collar with the same casual strength.

Finally able to breathe properly, ProGamer_Daddy looked at him gratefully, rubbing his neck.

"Thanks, buddy! Damn, you made that look easy!"

The third player nodded as if to say, "It's nothing."

"Hey, you sure talk in an interesting way!"

ProGamer_Daddy walked over.

Looking at the similarly torn sleeves on the other player, he clicked his tongue in wonder.

"How come there's such a big difference between people, even when we're all using starter gear?"

The third player looked down at his hands, flexing them thoughtfully.

"It's probably related to our own attributes. My strength… has always been greater than normal."

"That makes sense. My nose is sharper than average, and it doesn't feel any different in this body! I can smell everything around us crystal clear." ProGamer_Daddy had found some validation for himself too, taking exaggerated sniffs of the air.

I walked over to join them, my shortened pants now much more manageable.

"That's right. My height is also about the same as it is in real life. It seems like, apart from our appearance being randomized for privacy, all our attributes—like stamina, endurance, and smell—are copied from our real bodies." As the words left my mouth, I gasped.

Wait a minute... Those stats weren't on the beta registration form! A helmet that can scan our bodies?

"Height…" ProGamer_Daddy muttered, his gaze shifting from the top of my head down to my legs, his expression becoming subtle.

My face turned red with anger. "That's only because the starter pants are too long! It has nothing to do with my height—I'm a solid 177 cm, okay! That should be average!"

While not exactly tall, I certainly wasn't short either.

Just as I was about to defend myself further, the church doors creaked open with an ominous sound.

---Viktor's POV---

I entered, accompanied by Edgar and my light orb.

Bang!

The doors shut automatically without anyone touching them—a little theatrical touch I'd prepared.

I noticed the short one's mouth form an "O" shape as he stared in shock at us.

Perfect.

My wizard's robe was having exactly the effect I'd hoped for. With Edgar in his knight's armor beside me and the magical light orb floating above, we made quite the impressive entrance.

Each step we took seemed to increase their awe—I could practically feel their gazes boring into us.

"Damn, that's so cool!" the short one exclaimed.

I couldn't help but grin under my hood.

These past two days practicing elven noble banquet etiquette with Edgar hadn't gone to waste—this was exactly the moment I'd prepared for.

The muscular one couldn't resist stepping forward, but another quickly grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Don't move! This is probably the game's opening cutscene. If you miss it, you might lose important information—or worse, trigger the NPC's hostility!"

"Cutscene? NPCs?" the muscular one asked in surprise. "They aren't real people?"

"Of course not. It's just us three suckers in this game. Look at their outfits—do they look anything like ours? Way too fancy to be starter gear."

"Shh, the story's starting!"

I watched as the same player made a "quiet" gesture, craning his neck like a curious goose to watch us. Quite the talkative one. These newcomers are even more entertaining than I expected.

Edgar paused beside me—I could tell these players' behavior was confusing him just as much as he'd warned me it would. Just like now—he couldn't figure out why they were stretching their necks like that.

I sighed in relief, seeing that the three players were behaving themselves. Before entering, I'd imagined several scenarios where they might rush at us or act inappropriately. I'd even considered how I could, within character, knock them away.

Fortunately, that wouldn't be necessary.

I lifted my cloak, revealing my skeletal form.

Three audible gasps and whispered discussions followed, exactly as planned.

"Holy crap, a skeleton man!" the talkative one muttered, taking an instinctive step back.

"This is what 100% realism looks like? That skeleton is too detailed... way too detailed!" the shorter one marveled, leaning forward for a better look.

The muscular one's pupils constricted, his body tensing slightly.

I could see the exact moment their doubts vanished.

Perfect.

"Welcome, Returnees."

I spoke, using my deepest and sharpest voice.

"As you can see, I have failed in my task."

"The gods and Aeltia could not reconcile their differences. Six hundred years ago, the gods waged the final Divine War, and they were all annihilated."

"As foretold, Aeltia began its path toward destruction."

"The remains of the fallen gods gave rise to terrifying monsters. They continue to invade the lands of all races. The elves have retreated to the Elven Forest, the sirens hide deep beneath the sea, the dwarves have vanished, and the dragons bury their heads in the sands of Dragon Valley. Only humanity continues to resist."

"The battle lines cannot keep retreating. Each race must emerge from the shadow of the gods and find the true future of civilization. We will fire the first shot of resistance!"

"Though I could not stop the prophecy's birth, my return before you gives me the experience to help you rebuild the Watchers' legacy!"

"Our first step is to rebuild Honeyvale Town and establish our first foothold in Aeltia!"

"Do whatever you must! Our goals are the same, our vision aligned. We fight for the countless comrades behind us. Every second is precious—there is no time to waste!"

"Before the next monster tide, we need enough weapons, food, and a solid wall!"

As my speech ended, the place fell silent. I could see the talkative one mouthing something to his companions, though I couldn't make out the words.

I had expected this. While these money-hungry players were easy to command, they weren't willing to work for free.

Clearing my throat, I continued.

"I respect every warrior who risks returning to Aeltia, but courage and effort must be rewarded accordingly."

"Please mentally summon your 'Status Panel.' It contains everything you'll need."