The pure white space vanished in an instant.
When the six youths opened their eyes, they found themselves in the middle of a dusty, dry land full of cracks.
On the horizon were faint mountain silhouettes; around them, no buildings, no people… only the howling wind and the burning sun.
Jason took a deep breath, his usual mischievous grin on his face.
— "Alright kids… now I'm going to show you something legendary!"
Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Hopefully not like last time when you spun around and face-planted in the dirt with your so-called 'legendary move'?"
Without answering, Jason pressed on his left arm. A holographic panel appeared in the air, showing an avatar picture on the side and clear information next to it:
[PLAYER PROFILE]
Name: Jason
Surname: Evans
Age: 17
Date of Birth: January 8
Character Source: Perfect Aim
Ability Description: Can create ranged weapons at will. Whether gun or bow — never misses.
Without closing the panel, Jason formed a bow in his hand and fired an arrow into the air. When it struck dead center into a distant rock, he grinned at Marcus.
Marcus said, "That's it?" and pressed on his own arm:
[PLAYER PROFILE]
Name: Marcus
Surname: Allen
Age: 17
Date of Birth: August 18
Character Source:Blood Sword
Ability Description: Can summon a cursed sword. The sword is imbued with various spells.
A sword appeared in his hand, black and adorned with red runes. "Now this is what real power looks like."
Albert calmly exhaled and opened his panel:
[PLAYER PROFILE]
Name: Albert
Surname: Rogers
Age: 19
Date of Birth:December 11
Character Source:Mr. Invincible
Ability Description: Superhuman strength, can summon a shield. Useful for restricting an area or defending.
Then Sunny, curious, opened her own panel.
[PLAYER PROFILE]
Name: Sunny
Surname: White
Age: 18
Date of Birth: June 15
Character Source: The Crimson Princess
Ability Description: Advanced healer; can heal wounds and cure illnesses.
"A healer?! I was expecting like… a giant fireball!" Sunny burst out.
Marcus chuckled under his breath. "Perfect… you can hug the monster and heal it instead."
Jason squinted at Marcus. "Yeah, and when you get injured, you'll thank Sunny and say, 'You healed me, now I'm no longer a monster.' Problem solved."
Marcus's mood faltered, and almost regretfully, he gave Sunny an awkward smile as if to apologize.
When Duncan's turn came, the "Age" section on his panel only showed a "?".
[PLAYER PROFILE]
Name: Duncan
Surname: Anderson
Age: ?
Date of Birth: May 29
Character Source:The Dark Lord
Ability Description: Master of dark magic; can create curses and energy blasts.
Albert frowned. "What do you mean, you don't have an age?"
Sunny tilted her head. "Did the game glitch?"
Marcus mocked, "Or… are you like, five years old?"
Duncan smiled faintly. "You don't need to know that… Some things are safer if left unknown."
For a moment, everyone fell silent.
Millie was the last to open her panel:
[PLAYER PROFILE]
Name: Millie
Surname: Watson
Age: 17
Date of Birth: March 25
Character Source: Snow Queen
Ability Description: Can control ice and snow elements; able to freeze areas and create defensive walls.
After a brief test of their powers, a debate began.
Jason: "Every game has a narrator who shows up to tell us our mission. Without them, the story won't even start."
Marcus: "What story? The game's obvious: You see a monster, you kill it."
Jason: "Do you really play like that?"
Marcus: "Exactly. The only thing we need to listen to is this sword."
At that moment, Marcus's sword swung unintentionally, striking an NPC that had suddenly appeared behind him and knocking it to the ground.
Marcus: "Just now…" he started, but the others shot him a look that screamed, Bravo, really well done.
Marcus gave an embarrassed smile and lowered his sword.
But then, the NPC suddenly stood back up, perfectly unharmed.
When Marcus realized it had reappeared behind him, he panicked and stumbled a step back.
The NPC spoke in a sweet voice:
"Welcome, chosen players. This is the special zone of Dustvale Village. The village is under invasion by mysterious monsters. Your mission is to locate and eliminate all monsters, and then find the hidden code."
Just as suddenly as it appeared, the NPC vanished. The six players stared at each other in shock.
Jason: "Alright… so what do we actually do now?"
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