Then, the notification he was waiting for arrived, its text a gateway to everything.
[Euloria will still be sealed for 5 months and 2 weeks]
[Do you want to enter the Sublimation Realm?]
His grin widened into a thing of sharp, anticipatory joy. The main game was locked away for half a year, its players asleep at the starting line. But he held the key to a realm beyond.
Without a single moment of hesitation, his decision echoing his every defining choice, he selected Yes.
His body flickered.
Then, he disappeared from the character creation void, leaving the silent, empty choices behind.
He was not entering a game. He was stepping into a forge. And he intended to be thoroughly tempered long before anyone else even arrived.
Aelion's consciousness snapped back into focus, the last vestiges of the teleportation fade leaving his senses.
He was no longer in a void, but standing on solid ground.
The air was fresh and crisp, carrying the scent of wild grass and damp earth.
A vast, sun-drenched grassland stretched out before him, rolling towards distant, mist-shrouded mountains.
The sky was a brilliant, unfamiliar azure.
Directly before him, a transparent, shimmering dome of energy hummed softly, enclosing a small, circular area.
[You are currently in a Safe Zone]
[Safe Zone will last for: 01:00:00]
A timer materialized in the corner of his vision, its numbers a stark, crimson countdown: 59:59… 59:58…
Beside his feet lay his starting gear: a simple, unadorned iron sword, its edge dull but serviceable, and two coarse, dry-looking pieces of bread. Aelion's expression didn't change.
He knelt, his movements economical and calm, and placed the sword and bread into his inventory.
A mental grid appeared, showing exactly ten slots. One slot was permanently blacked out, occupied by the uninspectable Mage God's Inheritance Crystal.
Another now held the Time Extension Ticket. The sword and bread claimed two more, leaving him with six empty spaces.
It was a brutal limitation, a constraint meant to force choices.
The rules of this place were clear in his mind. Each person had only one day within the Sublimation Realm.
A single, precious 24-hour period to accomplish as much as possible, to earn Achievements.
Those Achievements were the true currency here—they could be taken back to the main world of Euloria and used to upgrade one's starting Talent, granting an irreversible head start. It was a merciless sprint.
Aelion willed his status screen open, his eyes scanning for the tools of this sprint.
[Skills: Fire Magic, Ice Magic, Thunder Magic, Life Leech, Achievement Recorder (Temporary), Achievement Box (Temporary)]
Two new, temporary skills. The Achievement Recorder was likely a log, a way to track his accomplishments. The Achievement Box was undoubtedly the container for the points or tokens he would earn.
His gaze fell upon the remaining slot in his inventory. The Time Extension Ticket. The key to turning a sprint into a marathon.
Without a single second of doubt, he mentally selected the ticket and willed it to be used. He didn't just select 'use'; he envisioned himself tearing it in half, a decisive, physical action.
The ticket vanished from his inventory.
[You have used the 'Time Extension Ticket']
[Your time has been extended by six months]
Aelion's analytical mind was already calculating the immense advantage 180 days would grant him over every other player. But the system message wasn't finished. Another line of text, glowing with a faint, golden light, scrolled into view.
[Due to your talent, Purity Sage Physique (EX rank), the effect has been doubled.]
[Your time has been extended by another six months.]
Aelion's eyes widened, a rare, genuine shock breaking through his composed facade. The EX-rank talent… it hadn't just doubled a treasure's effect; it had doubled the effect of a ticket, a temporal reward. The implications were staggering. Any consumable, any reward, any bonus he ever received would be magnified.
The shock melted away, replaced by a slow, deep, and utterly predatory grin that transformed his face. A full year. 365 days. Not to merely earn Achievements, but to farm them. To plunder this realm for everything it was worth while everyone else was limited to a single, frantic day.
He pushed the exhilarating thought to the back of his mind. Contemplation was a luxury for later. Now was for action.
The Safe Zone timer ticked down to 59:30.
The Safe Zone timer ticked down to 59:30.
Aelion didn't wait. He took a firm, deliberate step forward, passing through the shimmering energy of the dome.
The hum of the Safe Zone vanished, replaced by the whisper of the wind and the profound, watchful silence of the unknown grassland. The protection was gone. The trial had truly begun.
He was level zero, trapped by a unique drawback, armed with only a basic sword and a few pieces of bread.
Four hours had bled away since Aelion had stepped beyond the shimmering safety of the dome.
The sun had climbed higher, casting long, sharp shadows across the endless sea of grass.
He moved with a predator's silent patience, his senses, honed by a lifetime of observation and strategy, scanning the environment for the slightest disturbance. The peace was deceptive; this was a realm of trial, and a trial required opposition.
Finally, his vigilance was rewarded.
A flicker of movement in the distance resolved into a graceful, solitary form: a deer.
It was a magnificent creature, its coat a dappled brown and white, with a majestic set of antlers crowning its head. As Aelion focused, a tag materialized above it, cold and informational.
[Rain Deer (Level 10)]
A ten-level gap. In any ordinary game, this would be a suicidal engagement for a level zero player. Aelion's lips curled into a faint, cold smile. He was far from ordinary.
He didn't rush.
There was no frantic scrambling for an advantage. His movements were those of a master executing a practiced routine.
The basic iron sword appeared in his right hand.
At his will, flames, vivid and hungry, erupted along its length, turning the dull metal into a blade of searing heat.
Simultaneously, on his left palm, the air coalesced, condensed, and froze, forming a jagged, foot-long shard of glistening ice that hovered just above his skin, radiating a palpable chill.
The deer, sensing the sudden shift in elemental energy, lifted its head, nostrils flaring. Its eyes widened in alarm.
It was too late.
Aelion's left hand flicked forward. The icicle shot through the air not like a thrown projectile, but like a bullet fired from a rifle.
It crossed the distance in a blur of crystalline light and, with a sickening thwack, pierced the deer's abdomen, sinking deep into its vitals. The creature let out a pained, guttural cry, stumbling forward.
Aelion was already moving. He lunged, closing the gap between them in a heartbeat.
There was no hesitation, no mercy, only pure, ruthless efficiency. He raised the flaming sword high above his head, the fire roaring as it cut through the air.
The blade came down in a devastating arc, not merely striking the neck, but shearing straight through it.
Flame met flesh and bone, cauterizing the wound even as it severed.
The deer's head tumbled to the grass, its body collapsing a moment later, the scent of burnt hair and blood filling the air.
A notification, cool and impersonal, appeared in his vision.
[You have killed a Level 10 Rain Deer]
[Exp stored]
Aelion glanced at the message. The rule of the Sublimation Realm was clear. He could accumulate experience, a record of his deeds.
[Achievement Unlocked: 10 Level Cross Kill]
[Description: Defeat an enemy 10 levels above your own in a single, decisive engagement.]
A thrill, sharp and clean, ran through him. This was the true currency. This was progress.
His work was not done. He knelt beside the carcass. The antlers, untouched by the flames, were a potential resource.
With precise, efficient motions, he used his sword to cut them from the skull. He then found a flat stone and began methodically grinding the bases of the antlers against it, sharpening them into crude but effective stabbing tools.
He stored the two sharpened antlers in his inventory, two more items taking up precious space, but space well used.
Leaving the remains for the scavengers, he chose a direction at random and continued his journey, his pace steady, his eyes constantly scanning.
After another two hours of travel, the character of the grassland began to change. The gentle rolls gave way to rockier, more broken ground. And there, nestled at the base of a rocky outcrop, he saw it: the dark, yawning entrance of a den. The ground around it was trampled and littered with bones. A low, collective growl rumbled from the darkness within.
He had found a wolf den. And from the sound of it, it was occupied. A new challenge, and with it, the promise of more Achievements. Aelion's expression remained neutral, but his eyes, once again, began to glow with a faint, crimson light. The hunt was continuing.
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