In a dark area inside one of the novice villages.
“So you heard about the plan?” a man spoke, his ID was Dawn.
“Yes,” in front of him were three silver-skin warriors, the three strongest of the novice village he was in, “We’ll get her, don’t worry.”
“Well, you better, otherwise you won’t be paid, I’m a busy guy, so just do it quickly, you already have the location,” Dawn’s tone was cold, “Go inside the villa, kill anyone and anything you see, and come back, I want no civilian casualties beside those in the villa.”
“Right,” the silver-skins nodded.
Beside Dawn were two other human players, each of them silent as they let the leader speak.
Soon enough, the silver-skins left, and the three humans players stood there.
“Hey, Dawn, you think this is gonna work?” one of the men, named Sato, asked.
Dawn chuckled, shaking his head, “Of course it’s going to work. One silver-skin is stronger than the best human we’ve got on Earth, so with three of them? Alice doesn’t stand a chance.”
“Very well,” the other man, Lucas, nodded, “Then I guess the Stardust family is done for?”
“Yes,” Dawn said with a sigh, as if a great weight was about to be lifted off his shoulders. “Finally, after all this time.”
Dawn was the son of the head of one of the biggest financial institutes in the real world.
They had been thinking of getting rid of Richard, or at least the only person close to him: Alice, to guarantee he wouldn’t meddle in their affairs.
The appearance of ‘Universal Descent’, and Dawn discovering the SSS-Level “NPC Call” artifact, which can transfer up to three NPCs in the real world for a short period of time, had been a blessing.
Killing them via assassination could cause suspicion, no matter what they tried to do, but now, but if it was by supernatural means, it would ensure that there would be no suspicion, no trails leading back to them.
“The plan is in motion,” Dawn smiled.
“Yes, boss,” Sato and Lucas spoke at the same time.
…
Hours later, deep inside the novice village, Altros and his silver-skinned warriors stood before a glowing pedestal.
The [NPC Call] artifact was currently in his hands, pulsing with a sinister light.
His two companions stood behind him, ready.
“Are you ready?” Altros asked.
The two silver-skins nodded silently.
They had no fear, only focus.
Altros activated the artifact, and in an instant, the world around them shifted.
The game world blurred and twisted, then vanished completely.
The silver-skins were transported into the real world, right in front of a large, luxurious villa.
The air felt different here—thicker, more real.
The silver-skins looked around, disoriented for a brief moment.
“They are inside,” one of the silver-skins said, gripping his dagger tightly.
“Good,” Altros replied, a smirk forming on his face. “Easy money. We’ve been informed they don’t have powers here.”
The third silver-skin looked confused. “By the way… what is this world?”
Altros shot him a sharp glance. “We don’t get paid to ask questions. Focus on the mission.”
Without another word, Altros grabbed his bow and marched toward the entrance of the villa.
The silver-skins were professionals, and they wasted no time.
Altros signaled to one of his companions, who destroyed the door with a simple kick.
BOOM!
The door blew off its hinges, sending splinters flying in every direction.
Alex, who had returned from the game after killing monsters in the [Undead Temple], had been focused on every sound at the time, and so he immediately jumped to his feet, grabbing Alice.
“ALICE!” he shouted, his voice filled with urgency. “YOU GO HIDE, I’LL TAKE CARE OF THEM!”
Alice froze, her face pale with fear.
She had never been in a situation like this before.
Trembling, she obeyed, running to their bedroom and hiding under the bed.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she curled into a ball.
This was unlike anything she had ever experienced—it was terrifying.
In the living room, the silver-skins entered, stepping over the debris of the door.
They moved silently, their weapons at the ready, their eyes scanning the room.
But all they found was Alex, standing there, unflinching.
He was calm, unnervingly so, and his eyes fixed on them with a cold, calculating gaze.
The leader of the group, Altros, took a step forward, his bow at the ready.
“Hello,” Alex greeted them with a chilling smile, completely unbothered by their presence.
Altros narrowed his eyes, sizing him up. “Hm… doesn’t matter. We’ve been ordered to kill anyone in the villa.”
“By whom?” Alex asked, his voice sharp.
He wasn’t just curious—he wanted to know who was behind this.
Altros chuckled, shaking his head. “Sorry, kiddo. That’s a professional secret.”
“…” Alex remained silent, his expression unchanged.
Altros raised his bow, the tension in the room thickening, “Tell us where the girl is, and we’ll make your death as painless as possible.”
Still, Alex said nothing, his cold eyes watching them.
“Refuse to talk?” Altros asked, a mocking smile tugging at his lips.
“…” Alex remained silent, his mind already focused on his next move.
Altros sighed and clapped his hands, “Torture him.”
At his command, the two silver-skins rushed forward, one brandishing a dagger, the other a sword.
Their speed was astonishing—far faster than any normal human could track. frёeωebɳovel.com
And in the real world, their movements were a blur even for Alex.
But even then, the man stood calm, unwavering.
“Death Call,” he whispered.
The air around Alex grew cold, the temperature in the room dropping rapidly as dark energy began to swirl around him.
A deep, resonating sound filled the space, like the echo of a thousand souls crying out in agony.
[Death Call: Once a day, you can summon the Undead King to aid you in battle.]
A figure began to materialize above Alex, its form towering and ominous.
The skeletal figure of the Undead King loomed over the room, its hollow eyes glowing with an eerie light.
The silver-skin warriors stopped in their tracks, their faces twisting in fear as they looked up at the massive entity before them.
“You summon me for these fools?” the Undead King shrieked, its voice like the grinding of bones.
Altros and his warriors stood frozen, their bodies trembling.
The two silver-skins closest to Alex looked at each other, fear flashing in their eyes.
“Begone, fools!” the Undead King roared.
With a single swipe of his skeletal hand, the Undead King sent both silver-skins crashing into the walls with a deafening thud.
The force was overwhelming, and their health bars, invisible in this world, had been completely drained.
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The two silver-skins crumpled to the ground, lifeless.
Altros, still standing, could hardly believe what he was seeing.
His legs trembled as he watched the giant skeletal figure looming over Alex, obeying his every command.
“W-What the hell…?” Altros stammered, his voice shaky. “This… this isn’t supposed to be possible… they said there wouldn’t be any powers in this world. THEY LIED TO US!”
No, they hadn’t lied.
It was just that Alex was a special case.
The [Soul Contract] he had formed with the Undead King allowed the king’s power to transcend the boundaries of the game early on and manifest in the real world.
This was only possible because a [Soul Contract] was something almost impossible to get until one year after the game launched.
And even if someone got it, they would only be able to contract with weak foes, as no strong monster would accept.
Altros was now facing a power far beyond anything he had anticipated.
“Who lied to you?” Alex asked, his voice cold and calm. “If you tell me, I’ll consider sparing you.”
Altros hesitated, his mind racing.
He knew he couldn’t defeat Alex—not with the Undead King protecting him.
His only hope for survival was to give Alex what he wanted.
“His ID is Dawn,” Altros finally admitted, his voice trembling. “He ordered me to kill the daughter of Richard Stardust—”
Before he could finish, Alex gave the order to the entity above him.
The Undead King raised its bony hand and slammed it down on Altros.
The silver-skin leader was crushed in an instant, his body shattered beneath the immense force of the undead’s attack.
“Dawn…” Alex whispered, his eyes narrowing in fury.
He remembered that name all too well.
“Is that all?” the Undead King asked, its hollow voice echoing through the room.
“Yes,” Alex replied. “You can go now. Thank you.”
“Very well,” the Undead King said before dissolving into a mist of black smoke, vanishing from the room.
It still needed to retrieve its full power, and in the mental void it was put in because of the contract, it could do that in peace.
Alex stood there, breathing heavily but filled with a sense of relief.
He had saved Alice from certain death, and in the process, he had learned the identity of the person behind the attack.
Dawn.
The name echoed in his mind, filling him with a burning rage.
There would be no mercy.
Now, it was time for Alex to strike back.
And he was ready to kill more.