Free Web NovelChapter 28: Chapter 28- The Mystery Behind the Game: Myth Online.
The guards dragged Leo through the grand corridors of the inner palace.
His boots scraped against the polished marble floors as the two guards held him by his arms. freewebnovel.cσ๓
He had no strength whatsoever to resist; the difference in level was too much.
No wonder the survivability was less than 5%. If these guys were to even mistakenly step on me, I would be dead. Everyone in this place is fucking level 100 at the least.
Despite being dragged away helplessly, he weirdly felt a sense of satisfaction.
Well, in any case, I still managed to get inside the palace. It’s just a matter of time before I get to Mjolnir. Hehehe....
He was only starting to think positively when...
The guards who were dragging him suddenly lifted him and tossed him into a courtyard.
His grinning face twitched in pain.
Ouch. Tsk, they could have just asked me to walk. Instead, they dragged me all the way.
They didn’t even bother to cuff my hands.
Tsk, tsk... They are looking down on me too much.
In their eyes, he was nothing more than an ant—something they could crush at any moment, so they didn’t bother to keep him restrained in the courtyard.
After being thrown like a ragdoll, Leo pushed himself up and stood to look around. The courtyard was a vast, circular space paved with gleaming white stone. Towering silver columns supported the domed ceiling, each etched with intricate runes that pulsed faintly with power.
High above, the domed ceiling was a masterpiece of opulence. Ornate golden and silver decorations hung like frozen stars from the ceiling, catching the light and scattering it in dazzling patterns.
He stared upward, momentarily lost in the sheer beauty of the architecture.
"Hmph. Country bumpkin."
A sharp voice suddenly snapped him out of his daze.
Leo stiffened.
He turned around toward the voice.
A woman stood near the arched doorway, watching him with undisguised contempt.
She began walking toward him slowly, her steps echoing with authority. Her armor was sleek, accentuating her perfect curves and imposing presence.
Previously, she was wearing a helmet, so Leo could not see her face. But now that he saw it... he couldn’t help but admire her beauty.
The coldness on her face did nothing to diminish her beauty. It made her even more charming.
However, seeing Leo stare at her, a murderous pressure erupted from her, drenching Leo’s back in cold sweat.
Her eyes stared daggers at him.
She stepped closer. With each step she took, the pressure on Leo kept increasing.
Leo froze.
She stopped directly in front of him and stared for a full minute without speaking.
Leo swallowed nervously, his throat dry.
The silence was heavy, and the murderous pressure she was emitting wasn’t helping.
"So, tell me. Who sent you?" her voice commanding.
Leo was stunned by the question.
"Who sent me? The System?" Leo replied, unsure.
"Which world sent you? How do you know that Mjolnir was damaged? Only a few in the inner circle know about this. Even the guards at the gate don’t know about it."
When Leo heard that, he felt like he had screwed up big time by coming to the palace without any knowledge.
"Ahh... No, no. I am here on my class advancement quest. It’s to repair Mjolnir," Leo tried explaining.
He himself doubted his ability to repair the legendary weapon of a god, so he didn’t sound convincing enough to Freya.
She looked at him, her eyes filled with suspicion.
"You’re either a spy sent by the enemy world," she said, her voice cold, "or just a fool."
Leo met her eyes and helplessly replied, "I’m just a blacksmith."
"Yeah? Prove it."
Leo was about to answer, but...
The crazy woman was already attacking.
One moment she was standing still. The next, she was a silver blur.
Who knew when or from where she had pulled out a long spear?
Before Leo even realized it, the spear shaft had already slammed across his ribs with devastating force, sending him flying across the courtyard and crashing into the wall.
Pain exploded through his ribs. His health bar plummeted. His HP bar was already flickering with a red light, indicating dangerously low HP.
One more hit and it would all be over.
"You’re too slow," Freya said flatly
"Wait—wait, wait, lady, listen, just—listen before you attack!" Leo spoke in a panicked voice, one hand raised, the other pressed to his ribs.
"I’m at level ten! You’re freaking—I can’t even see your level. That’s how high your level is compared to mine. If you hit me one more time, I will end up dead."
"At this point, you are just bullying the weak ."
Freya paused mid-step.
Her eyes widened in genuine surprise.
"You’re... Level 10?"
"How’s that possible?"
I can sense that he hasn’t yet shed his mortal body, but Level 10?
Freya found it hard to believe.
Leo himself had no idea that others couldn’t see his stats or level. It was probably because of his class.
He still remained on the ground, his back pressed against the wall, breathing heavily.
Freya approached again, her expression icy. "You can’t possibly be Level 10. Until Level 50, players are supposed to be in the tutorial zone. No one below Level 50 should be able to leave the tutorial zone and definitely should not be able to access the universal servers. Especially not a high-level world like Asgard."
Leo blinked in confusion.
Tutorial? Universal server?... Heh?... What’s she talking about?
Leo had no idea what Freya meant. His face was covered in question marks.
Freya sighed, turned around, and walked gracefully to a nearby bench. She sat down, crossing her long legs.
"So." She studied him, chin propped on one hand. "Would you care to explain how, exactly, a level ten nobody like you, who is supposed to be in the tutorial zone, is standing in my courtyard right now?"
"Tutorial zone? What is a tutorial zone?" Leo asked, his voice cracking, confused
Was there some tutorial I’d missed? Some hidden system message I scrolled past without reading? And worse—an NPC knows about it. An NPC.
That thought alone made his skin crawl for some reason.
"Okay, I literally have no idea what you are talking about," Leo added.
Freya’s eyes widened even further, a flicker of disbelief crossing her usually stoic features. "Oh... you really don’t seem to know about the tutorial?"
She questioned with a raised eyebrow.
Now even Freya seemed confused.
Is this guy for real?
An absurd thought suddenly crossed her mind.
Could he actually be from a world that hasn’t awakened yet? But that’s impossible. How did he even leave the tutorial? Is this the work of the demons? No, even they should not be able to do this. So he really is on a quest???
This realization hit her hard.
Shock rippled through her, but she kept a straight face without showing it.
She leaned forward slightly and asked, "Where are you from?"
"Graystone City?" Leo answered, still confused.
"Not the tutorial space. Your real world," Freya pressed, her voice sharper now.
Leo hesitated. "Earth...?"
What the hell is going on? Leo’s mind reeled.
This NPC is asking about the real world? This game is way too realistic... it’s actually scary.
While Leo spiraled deeper into his own chaotic thoughts, Freya’s expression shifted from suspicion to stunned realization.
She had never heard of a world called "Earth."
Some backwater planet, perhaps?
"What is the highest level anyone in your world has reached?" she asked carefully.
Leo thought for a moment. "Level 15? Maybe a few have hit Level 20 by now? I don’t keep track of them."
Her guess had been confirmed.
Freya exhaled slowly, her posture relaxing just a fraction. "So your world has not yet awakened."
That changed everything. A newcomer from an unawaken world couldn’t possibly be a spy.
"Not yet awakened?" Leo asked, hoping to get some sort of explanation.
Something is supposed to be awakened? Did she say world?
Leo thought he had heard wrong.
She continued, her tone now almost instructional. "So this ’Earth’ of yours... it probably has no contact with the other worlds, right?"
Leo scratched the back of his head, still trying to process everything. "Well... some people have gone to the Moon. Does that count?"
Freya shook her head. "Listen closely. You clearly have no idea what’s happening, so I’ll explain it briefly."
She paused, letting the weight of her words settle before continuing. "After the average population of your world crosses Level 70 to 80, your world will awaken. That means all the abilities and powers from Myth Online will become fully accessible in your real world."
Leo’s eyes widened.
This woman is nuts. The developers who made this scene must have some serious personality issues.
But wait... Are NPCs supposed to know about the real world?
He opened his mouth to ask, but Freya raised her hand, silencing him.
"Not only that. Before your world truly awakens, dungeons will start showing up. If a dungeon break occurs, it will be catastrophic."
Freya continued. "At the same time, your world will become visible to the rest of the universe. Right now, it’s hidden—protected by the tutorial veil. But the moment it awakens, every powerful civilization across the cosmos will notice it. If you don’t quickly ally yourselves with a strong faction, you’ll be easy prey. Pirates, demons, invaders... your entire world could be devoured within days of awakening."
Leo still could not believe it. He sat there frozen, his mind struggling to comprehend what she was saying. His heart hammered wildly in his chest.
His vision was blurring.
This can’t be real. This has to be some elaborate game lore... right?
His thoughts chaotic, he subconsciously muttered, "You mean... this game is real?" His voice cracked with disbelief. "You’re not just an NPC?"
"NPC? What’s an NPC?" Freya asked.
Leo once again had a stunned look on his face.
Without allowing Leo to answer, she explained further, "Until the tutorial phase, you are relatively safe, but once the tutorial ends and you come across this dimension, it’s your real body that is teleporting, not just your consciousness transferring like before."
Freya’s lips curved into a faint, almost pitying smirk. "My world—Asgard—went through the exact same process centuries ago. However we were already strong even before the System arrived, so we survived the initial invasion. But it still cost us dearly."
"The hammer of the God of Thunder, Mjölnir, was damaged during the chaos, which remains unrepairable to this day."
Leo nodded and thought of something else. "So are we in Myth Online or the real world?"
"We are still in Myth Online. After we gained full access to Myth Online and cleared the tutorial, we constructed this version of Asgard within this dimensional space of Myth Online. It is not our true realm, but we can teleport here with a single thought," Freya added.
She leaned forward, her eyes gleaming. "And one more thing... the revival function only works during the tutorial. If you die here... you die for real. Hehehe."
A chilling smirk played on her lips.
Leo’s face drained of all color. A look of horror twisted his facial features. His stomach dropped as if he’d been thrown from a cliff.
He looked at his health bar. It was in single digits.
"Meaning I almost died to your attack just now?" Leo asked.
Freya just smirked at his question.
If everything she said was true, then he had just escaped death.
His mind raced, desperately trying to reject what he’d just heard, but fragments of evidence kept flooding into his mind. His body growing inexplicably stronger back on Earth, that viral video of a man using an actual skill in the real world. It all lined up too perfectly. The unexplainable things were being answered.
His heart went ice-cold.
A deep chill spread through his veins, making his hands tremble even more.
No. No way. This can’t be happening.
He wanted to laugh it off as some elaborate prank or game mechanic, but the weight in Freya’s gaze and the undeniable changes he’d already experienced told him otherwise.
Leo stared at the Valkyrie, his mouth completely dry, his voice barely above a whisper. "You’re telling me... everything I’ve been treating like a game is real, and it could even get my entire planet wiped out?"
Silence...
It was as if the temperature in the courtyard had plummeted by a few more degrees.
His mind spun wildly, refusing to fully accept it.
His expression turned serious.
Earth... invaded? Devoured?
What about my workshop? What about Mrs. Patterson? And all my neighbors—would they die?
The thought sent a shiver running down his spine.
He had logged into Myth Online thinking it was just an escape, a desperate measure, a way to make money.
Now it felt like the fate of an entire world depended on this game.
Fuck! I’m gonna try and make all the people I know join this game. Everyone should be strong enough not to die when this happens in the future.
Freya watched him for a moment, her expression unchanging. "Oh, and about repairing Mjolnir... you can forget about it. You can’t even get close to it at your current level."
"What?" Leo was awakened from his thoughts. He realized what the woman had just said. All the things he had been thinking about just now shattered. His eyes widened in shock again. "Then how am I supposed to complete my class advancement quest?"
"Not my problem," Freya answered coldly. "Now leave. You are not worthy."
The dismissal hit like a slap. Leo’s chest tightened with frustration and desperation.
No... I can’t leave like this.
After learning the horrifying truth about the game, about the awakening, the invasions, the real stakes—staying weak was no longer an option.
He couldn’t afford to remain stuck at Level 10 forever.
Gathering every ounce of courage he possessed, Leo called out, "I can’t leave like this! I need to fix the hammer so I can level up again."
Freya paused. She turned slightly and studied him with interest. Seeing his determined expression, the fire in his eyes despite the beating he had just taken, stirred some admiration within her.
Her gaze lingered on the worn-out crown on his head, then on the Ember-Touched Sword at his side, and finally on the bracers adorning his arms.
She seemed to weigh him carefully, measuring.
All the items she eyed were the best equipment he had on him.
"Did you forge that crown, those bracers, and that sword?" she asked.
Leo shook his head. "I didn’t forge the crown, but I forged the bracers and sword."
Hearing that he had forged the bracers and sword, Leo’s image in her eyes improved a bit.
After a long silence, she turned away. "You can try to enter the blacksmithing competition."
Leo blinked in surprise. "Competition?"
"The palace is holding a smithing competition," Freya said, her back still turned toward him.
"The winner will get to study Asgardian forging techniques and runes. Top candidates may even receive something special. And the sole victor... might earn a chance to come into contact with Mjölnir."
Without another word, she walked away, her armor glinting as she disappeared deeper into the palace.
Moments later, guards entered the courtyard and roughly escorted Leo back to the gates.
"You can leave now," one of them grunted.
As he stepped through the massive gates, one guard snickered loudly.
"So, mortal boy? Have you repaired Mjölnir yet?"
Leo ignored the mockery, pressing a hand against his bruised ribs as he walked away. Pain still throbbed through his body, but his mind was elsewhere.
