I moved closer to the high orc's body for a better look—it was my first time seeing a monster like that. But the moment I touched it…
Suddenly, the corpse glowed with an ominous aura before slowly fading away. A wave of magical energy pulsed out as it disappeared, leaving only a small orb behind.
I froze. That wasn't normal.
Usually, when a monster was defeated in Eternal SoulS, it simply vanished, dropping some loot like weapons or armor. But this time? It left behind something else entirely.
A strange orb.
Curious, I reached out and picked it up. A notification immediately appeared.
'You have obtained Lineage Orb (High Orc).'
"Lineage Orb…?" I muttered, confused.
I'd never seen such an item before. I used my Identify skill on it, but nothing came up. No description, no stats. Completely blank.
What even is this? Some kind of special drop? But… this is the first time I've ever seen it. Weird.
I was still turning the orb over in my hands when I felt a presence behind me.
A humanoid figure.
It looked almost exactly like a human, except it wore full armor and carried a sword.
"Another high orc!" I muttered, quickly raising my magun. Something about this one felt stronger than the last.
I pulled out both maguns and aimed at the silhouette.
But just as I was about to fire—
"Wait, wait, wait! Don't shoot!!" a voice shouted.
"Eh?"
I hesitated and lowered my weapons.
The figure stepped forward. It wasn't a monster at all—it was a woman.
She wore plated armor over a scarlet coat, her slim figure accentuated by short orange hair. Pale and lovely, with a skirt of delicate armor over leather leggings, she looked more like a player character than any monster.
Stopping a few steps away, she raised her hand in greeting and spoke.
"There's no need to be hostile. I'm here to help you."
Her words caught me off guard, but I kept my maguns raised just in case. For all I knew, this could be some shapeshifting monster.
"Who are you? And why are you here?" I asked cautiously.
"Me? My name is Erina. I'm part of the Adventurer Faction. I'm looking for a lineage boss monster. According to my information, one should be around here."
"A… lineage-type monster?" I tilted my head.
Does she mean the lineage orb? I thought, glancing at the item in my hand.
Her eyes widened as she spotted it.
"Oh! You have one already. That's a lineage orb, isn't it? A high orc's, no less."
I nodded. "Yeah. The monster dropped it when it died. So… what exactly is a lineage orb? Some kind of special item?"
"Special? Well, you could say that," Erina replied. "But how do you not know this? Have you never fought a lineage-type monster before?"
I shook my head.
"I see…" she murmured, staring at me thoughtfully. "That explains why you're so wary. To think that someone new got transferred here…"
Transferred? I blinked.
"First things first. Let's head back to town. This place isn't safe for conversations," she said.
"Town? But there's nothing around here." I looked around—just forest.
"Don't worry. I can take us there."
"I still don't even know if you're an enemy or not," I muttered.
She chuckled. "Fair enough. But trust me—you'll want to see this. Come on!"
Before I could protest, she grabbed my hand and pulled out a crystal. A moment later, light engulfed us—and we teleported.
When my vision cleared, I nearly gasped.
A town stood before me. A proper, medieval-looking city.
"W-where are we?" I asked, bewildered.
"Welcome to the Out of Boundary City," Erina said with a smile. "This is where all the deleted character players reside."
"Deleted characters…?" I repeated, tilting my head.
"Yup. Just like you. You're one of us, right? A deleted character."
"Huh?"
Her words hit me like a hammer.
Deleted? I'm a deleted player character?
"I mean, you must be. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here," Erina explained.
"But… how? I didn't die in the game," I said out loud. "Even if it was a glitch, I should've been logged out. Not… this."
Wait. Could it be… I actually died and got isekai'd? No… that can't be it. If I had died in real life, I'd be back in my original world, not still inside the game.
Thoughts raced through my mind, but Erina cut them short.
"Alright, let's go. We've got a lot to discuss." She grabbed my wrist again, tugging me toward the city.
What the heck is going on? This is way too confusing!
The city was bustling with life. Crowds of people moved through the streets, chatting, trading, laughing. For a place I'd never even heard of, it was surprisingly lively.
"H-hey, Erina," I asked as we walked. "What is this place, really?"
"This?" She gestured around. "This is where deleted characters live. When a player's character is erased from the main world, the data doesn't vanish completely—it transfers here instead. We call them 'deleted characters.'"
"So you're saying… this place is a separate world?"
"Exactly." She nodded. "For some reason, once we're transferred here, we gain consciousness. We become aware of what we are—game characters. But we can't interact with the main world anymore. This city is our home now."
"Home…" I repeated quietly.
"Yup. You'll understand once you settle in." Erina smiled warmly.
I didn't respond. My mind was too busy reeling.
Sure, I'd heard theories before—rumors about deleted assets not being truly deleted but hidden somewhere. But to see it like this? To live it?
Unbelievable.
And if what she said was true, then why was I here? By the rules, only characters that actually died should've been transferred. But I hadn't died. Not really.
Could the developers know about this? Or… was this some hidden system, never meant to be discovered?
Erina's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Well then, let's head to the Adventurer Faction building. We need to talk about the most important thing—your lineage orb."
I raised the orb in my hand. "This thing? You've mentioned it a lot. What is it, really?"
"I'll explain later," she said with a grin. "Don't worry about it for now."