Free Web NovelChapter 7: Drawnreach City
Vyral slowly took off his helmet game and stared at the energy gauge on it.
[0/100%]
His expression twisted with countless emotions he couldn’t put into words.
"I’m done." He felt like laughing and crying at the same time.
"Why would it run out of energy at that exact moment? Is she still alive? No... but I’m absolutely certain that our relationship is over."
Then, he waited for Polly to return to resolve the issue with his helmet game’s battery. It turned out the helmet’s battery had degraded, which explained why it was running out of energy so quickly.
Both of them decided to leave the shabby shack to find something useful before continuing the game.
Vyral carefully put on a gas mask and a ragged cloak before following behind Polly. Soon, the scene of this world appeared before him after Polly opened the rusty steel door of the shack.
A gray, overcast sky immediately came into view, the aftermath of a nuclear war from centuries ago that had severely changed the atmosphere and climate.
The ash and dust from the nuclear explosions still lingered in the sky, showing no signs of fading even after a few hundred years.
Vyral didn’t know that this world was a distant future or a parallel world. But as far as he hoped, it was the latter.
Vyral fought to take a few precious breaths of oxygen before moving ahead alongside Polly. During that time, he also observed the sector where he lived.
The small, shabby shacks were even worse than his own. Scavengers walked along paths littered with remnants of the old civilization, barely even glancing at one another, as if each of them was too busy surviving their own life.
None of them connected with each other, as though they were complete strangers. But that was understandable. In a world where scavengers could die at any moment, building relationships was nothing more than a waste of time.
Vyral gazed at them with a bitter look before noticing a weathered hoverbus floating by the transport station.
The two of them quickly headed toward it since it was the only hoverbus in this sector. If they missed it, they would probably have to wait another six hours for the next one, or walk for around a week to the next transport station.
Only the hoverbus, with its sonic speed, was able to help scavengers travel between sectors built far away from each other at hundred kilometers distances.
Polly and Vyral sat down at ease while a voice rang out from the hoverbus speaker.
[Passengers in seats 33 and 34, please remain seated. We will arrive at Drawnreach City in thirty minutes.]
Twenty-five minutes later, Vyral and Polly stopped at a transport station near the city. Well, they couldn’t enter the city without citizen ID cards, but it was fine since Polly had already arrived at the place he wanted.
They came to an empty bar.
"Wait a minute. In the meantime, you can watch TV. Chances to entertain yourself are pretty rare." Polly said as he headed into a nearby room with an old man who seemed to be his friend.
Vyral took off his gas mask and sat down on a bar stool. He picked up a glass of water to drink, but then a charming voice rang out from the television hanging on the wall of the bar.
[What are you feeling after becoming the players to conquer the opening dungeon of the Hell Mode of The Rise of King Arthur in the Apocalypse, player Scarlet.]
A red-haired young girl with an indifferent expression sat gracefully on the long chair. Her delicate hands rested one over the other on her snow-white thighs. Her pair of crimson eyes slowly shifted toward the girl MC who had just asked her the question.
Silence covered the place as Scarlet said nothing.
However, the girl MC barely showed any anger since the girl was far too gorgeous for her to feel any hatred toward her. Not to mention her status. She was the first daughter of the president of the McCarthy Corporation, one of the powerful organizations created for The Rise of King Arthur in the Apocalypse game.
[Sorry...I have nothing to say.]
Just like that, Scarlet stood up and walked away, ignoring the confused looks from everyone.
Vyral rubbed his chin.
"Seems she isn’t the type of girl for the public."
In contrast to Scarlet, a handsome boy in a black formal suit sat there. With sharp features, he looked like an idol heartthrob, the kind of guy every foolish girl would want to have a child with. A subtle smile formed on his face, enough to make the girl MC blush for a few seconds.
This one also held a high position like Scarlet.
[Sorry. Scarlet is an introvert. On behalf of my friend, I’ll answer this question. After all, I’m also the one who conquered the opening dungeon in Hell Mode like her.]
His voice was full of confidence, even carrying a hint of bragging.
Vyral frowned while taking another sip of water.
’’Well, he has the right to show off.’’
The girl MC asked.
’[So, Player Grey. I have some questions.]
...
[First, how are you feeling about your opening dungeon? Do you want to experience it again? It’s just an assumption, since everyone knows a player can only experience it once in their life.]
Grey said politely.
[Indeed... no. Never. It’s a hell for anyone.]
The MC girl gulped in worry.
[So, is there any way to avoid that opening dungeon?]
Every player had this concern when entering the game for the first time.
Grey said,
[Well, this depends on many things. I can’t answer that.]
...
Vyral wrinkled his brows.
"Why not just say ’I don’t know’?"
...
The girl MC nodded and asked,
[Next question. Have the corporations fixed the usual errors in the game yet? Like why must everyone pass the opening dungeon to officially join the game and evolve... and the issue of bugs that cause players to die in the real world when they die in the game.]
...
[Next question,] Grey said coldly, as if he didn’t want to accept that kind of question again.
The MC girl was startled for a few seconds before lingering and then asking another question.
"[...Could you explain why players are assigned races randomly upon their first login?]
Grey chuckled.
[No... That’s the wrong way to think about it. Your race depends on your genetic code. As soon as the game helmet accesses your brain, it identifies the fragments of genes related to your ancient ancestors... Well, that’s all I can say. The corporations definitely wouldn’t interfere with something like that.]
Vyral’s expression twisted in annoyance.
"So it’s true. My ancestor was a goblin? That explains why I’m only around 1.5 meters tall."
[...In the near future, will the game have anything new?]
Grey smirked.
[That’s the point. There’s a lot. Currently, our corporation has a few new features that will be activated in the near future. Example: regular tournament events that are broadcast live across the city, and new sleep pods replacing the helmets, allowing a longer gaming experience.]
[Plus, I have some good news for everyone... King Arthur has officially appeared after 300 years of absence.]
The MC girl’s expression turned stunned, and almost everyone in the studio shared the same reaction. After all, everybody knew about Arthur Pendragon – the last descendant of the Pendragon royal bloodline from the capital of Camelot, which had become the lair of the Seven Demon Kings.
For 300 years, a prophecy had been passed down – the return of King Arthur would mark the end of the Demon race.
The Demon race had always been like a virus in the game ever since it was created around 500 years ago. At first, they were just designed to play the role of villains to make the game more interesting.
But things became complicated 300 years ago, the day the game formed its own consciousness – Corporations still denied all of that, saying it was just a minor error.
Ironic, constant bugs kept appearing.
For example, players who died in the game also died in the real world. Things got out of control, and the demons only grew stronger and more brutal.
A lot of players had already died because of this.
But now, finally, the chance to erase that virus came. The evolution path of players wouldn’t be as harsh, as bloody in the game anymore.
[So, have the corporations found him?] The MC girl asked.
Grey sighed.
[Unfortunately, we’re not there yet... but we’re actively looking for him. So all players in the world, please contact us if you have any information about him. We will pay a huge reward and grant you a slot in our top 1 guild – Phoenix. You know, we can’t delay it – the development of King Arthur needs priority. All for the sake of humanity.]
Vyral frowned.
’’I don’t think they even know Arthur is a girl.’’
Grey lowered his voice.
[We need to find him first, before the Unholy Players do.]
The MC girl gulped and quickly shifted the topic – Unholy Players shouldn’t be discussed here. freewebnσvel.cѳm
A few minutes later...
[Thank you for all your enthusiastic answers, Player Grey.]
[Do you want to say anything to everyone watching behind the television?]
Grey grinned, glancing playfully at the MC girl, causing her to blush again, as if he were subtly flirting with that beautiful MC girl.
A hint of annoyance appeared in his eyes.
"This bullshit... I guess that girl will end up in bed with that guy tonight."
Before Grey could say anything, Vyral switched to another channel.
[Hello, Lulu. Wanna meet me? Yeah, I’m here... Sonic Jet... the superhuman with sonic speed you’re a fan of. Let’s see what I can give you... shoes with my logos on them...]
[I promise you, once you recover, I’ll give you a SIS Corporation chamber to play the game.]
...
[Dawnreach Academy will officially begin admissions in another week. Thanks to the huge amount of money invested into the academy, they have decided to open a new training program specifically for players who conquered the dungeon in hell mode. However, the selection process will be extremely strict...Reporter Aluko at Dawnreach Academy, Campus 2 ]
Vyral lazily watched TV until, a few minutes later, Polly finally walked out of the room carrying a box full of old stuff.
"Let’s go home, Vyral."
Five hours later.
Vyral and Polly returned to the shabby shack with the helmet fully charged with energy tabs.
Vyral putting on the helmet. It was time to return to the game.
