Creak—the flames enveloped the entire building, reducing it to ashes at a slow pace. The windows exploded, sending shards of glass flying in all directions.
The intense heat radiated from the inferno, scorching everything in its path.
In the dark-filled room at the bottom of the building, Ambrose dodged the falling, burning debris with great difficulty.
He could barely stay standing, let alone dodge.
“Shit…” He crashed to his knees and tried to catch his breath. He tried to find a way out, but it looked hopeless.
The smoke and flames had engulfed the entire area, leaving him trapped and desperate for a miracle.
‘I can’t even log out! The flames are somehow keeping me trapped in a combat state!’ Ambrose looked up towards the sea of flames and realized that all escape routes were blocked. ‘The game developers sure are cruel. Is my fate to slowly burn to ashes?’
“Is there nothing to do…” Ambrose gritted his teeth. He didn’t want to die here. His swords were lying beside him, and there was a dropped item arms-length away.
Jaeger had dropped it upon his death.
It was a basic shirt.
Therefore, absolutely useless. He could only chuckle at Jaeger’s luck.
He had checked the previous items he received from the inn upon their deaths.
He received one wooden spear, one iron spear, one box of apples, and lastly, basic pants.
They either didn’t have anything or they had put a lot on luck stat.
“I am truly the unluckiest.” Ambrose chuckled self-mockingly and grabbed his swords with the intention of returning them to inventory.
At first, he placed the Red Sword back into inventory, but when he caught a glance at his Black Sword, he remembered something out of its description.
“Can slash through anything…” Ambrose frowned and raised his gaze at the flames. “Does that mean it can cut through flames too?”
He pushed himself to stand up and wanted to risk everything to find out. However, there was still no way out.
At that moment, the ceiling cracked and fell apart.
It looked like the sky was falling down because of the sea of flames.
Ambrose quickly rolled out of the way and shielded himself from the debris with the Black Sword.
The flaming debris crashed into the ground, and the fire from above began spreading across the darkness. Suddenly, the situation was even more dire than before.
There was a rising fire in front of him, filling the room with dark smoke. 𝑜𝒱xt.𝒞𝑚
“Cough, cough!” Ambrose covered his mouth and coughed violently as the flames grew closer.
He took out a basic shirt from his inventory, ripped it into pieces, and tied it around his mouth and nose as makeshift protection.
‘Time to test that theory.’ His eyes were already getting watery because of the smoke.
He lifted his Black Sword and reached into his inventory to retrieve his second Black Sword.
After crossing the blades, he took a deep breath and charged at the fire with unwavering determination to survive this ordeal.
He had just survived a deadly battle against Jaeger. He had zero intention to die of mere fire after defeating such a formidable opponent.
His legs were burning with exhaustion, and his body felt sluggish and weak. It was already a miracle that he could stay conscious.
Yet he pushed forth into the fire.
“Dual Basic Slash!” Ambrose screamed and slashed the Black Swords into the scarlet-red flames.
He could feel the intense heat scorching his skin, but he refused to let it deter him. He screamed and pushed himself into the fire.
The fire enveloped the entire room.
A pillar of black smoke rose all the way to the crimson moon. It was witnessed even from surrounding villages and towns.
The townsfolk and villagers just watched in curiosity, wondering whether there was a wildfire somewhere.
…
Morning sun appeared above the world as the crimson moon faded into the horizon. The sky was ablaze with hues of orange and pink, casting a warm glow over the land.
The birds chirped, insects buzzed, and a gentle breeze rustled through the trees.
It was another lovely day.
Yet, in Tonshen Village, a sense of unease hung in the air.
The former luxurious building of the Village Chief, known for its exquisite architecture, now stood in ruins.
Its once vibrant colors faded, and its grandeur was reduced to rubble. The black smoke was still present, with a few of the rooftop structures still smoldering.
The fire was nowhere to be seen.
Creak— the sound of collapsing beams echoed through the desolate air.
Crack—a hand appeared from the ground. It was ashen-gray and covered in soot, reaching out to the bright blue sky.
The person climbed out of the rubble, gasping for breath.
“Ah…” Ambrose gasped greedily for air while trying to keep his eyes open. His heart beated faintly in his chest, and he wondered how he had managed to survive.
His face was covered in ash, making him almost unrecognizable.
“Well…” He chuckled before laughing while looking at the two swords in his hands. “I guess they can cut through anything…”
“I am so tired… How early is it?” Ambrose rubbed his forehead. He couldn’t sleep or log off for the entire night.
It was unusual torture. and he doubted the game developers ever imagined for someone to be in such state.
Ambrose gritted his teeth and stood up before slowly placing his swords in his inventory. He then began limping away from the ruined building.
He reached the inn, found a random room, and then plopped down on the bed.
[Your temporary spawn spot has been added!]
“This place is far from safe, but I have to log off…” Ambrose squinted his eyes and pressed the logout button.
As the vision faded to black, he couldn’t help but wonder what dangers awaited him upon his return.
…
“Ahh…” Jesse exhaled and slowly opened his eyes. The exhaustion of his avatar didn’t transfer to his real life body.
Thus, he felt again more energetic but couldn’t do anything about the sleepiness.
At that moment, his eyes widened in shock as his stomach rumbled and his bladder threatened to erupt.
He just remembered that he had been online for nearly 24 hours!
“Fuck!” Jesse put the headset away and rushed to the bathroom.
He desperately needed to relieve himself before his bladder reached its breaking point.
After doing that, he let out a long yawn and was too tired to wash his teeth, so he moved towards the kitchen instead to fill his stomach.
He had one pack of noodles left in the whole refrigerator.
He decided to cook the noodles for a quick and easy meal.
After doing so, he sat on the table while slowly eating. He forgot his phone in the bedroom and felt too tired to go pick it up.
Otherwise, he would have wanted to check the forums for anything important.
Ding, dong—the doorbell rang, echoing throughout the apartment.
“Hmm?” Jesse reluctantly stood up and went to the door to check who it might be. He opened the door and, with a sleepy gaze, saw a black-haired man donned in a fancy suit with a top hat and a walking cane in hand.
“Son, are you ready to go?” Jack asked with a smile. “Oh, were you eating?”
“Uhh…” Jesse’s sleepiness slowly disappeared. He didn’t know what time it was, so he thought there was still time. “Umm, how much is the time?”
“Seven in the morning!” Jack said. “It’s the perfect time to start the day!”
“O-oh.” Jesse nodded with a strained smile. He thought they would leave in the evening, but it looks like he was mistaken. “I will go change clothes… You can come in?”
“Oh, thanks.” Jack stepped inside the apartment and looked around the cramped space with a sense of curiosity.
After Jesse returned to his bedroom to change clothes, Jack walked into the small kitchen and saw a bowl of noodles on the table.
He picked up a fork and took a taste, but then shook his head.
“These noodles taste awful.” He muttered. “Hmm, I wonder if he is still hungry. I should get him something much better to eat.”
After a while, Jesse returned while wearing his clothes, which he received from La Merch.
They were his best clothes, and he thought they were appropriate clothes to wear for the special occasion.
It was, after all, the first time he was going to properly talk with his real father.
He wanted to make a good impression.
“Shall we go?” Jack asked with a smile.
“Yes…” Jesse nodded. He was unsure how he should call him, and it was clear from his look.
“You can call me Jack for now.” Jack said with a smile, not wanting to push his son to call him father right away.
“Alright, Jack.” Jesse heaved a sigh of relief and then walked out of the apartment with his father.