Chapter 1: Trash Player
The capsule hummed like an old refrigerator about to die.
A thin line of light flickered across its cracked visor, leaking into the cramped one-room apartment.
The sound wasn't comforting—it was a reminder that the machine had been salvaged from someone's junkyard pile. One spark, and it could turn into a coffin.
Kade Veyron lay inside, staring at the screen above him as though it were the last star in a collapsing universe.
[Welcome to Elysium Online.]
This was it. The launch day of the first true full-dive game.
Not some clunky helmet sim, but the world everyone had dreamed about—a second reality where pain, hunger, and failure didn't exist… unless the devs coded them in.
For most, Elysium was entertainment.
For Kade, it was survival.
Rent overdue.
Landlord's threats.
Fired from his job.
No food in three days.
His last money had gone into this capsule, bought from a pawnshop run by a man with too many tattoos and not enough teeth.
"If this thing fries my brain," Kade muttered, "at least I won't starve."
He pressed a trembling finger against the screen.
[Initializing Dive Sequence.]
[Warning: Hardware integrity compromised.]
The words glowed red.
Kade swallowed hard.
"Doesn't matter. Just work."
The world collapsed around him.
---
Light consumed everything.
For a moment, he was weightless—stripped of pain, hunger, exhaustion.
When sensation returned, he stood barefoot in a white void. Data streams flowed beneath his feet like rivers of light.
A serene female voice echoed:
[Welcome, new player. Please proceed with character creation.]
A panel appeared before him.
Dozens of races scrolled by: Human, Elf, Dwarf, Beastkin, Draconian… each with subraces, advantages, hidden flaws.
Kade's chest tightened. He had studied guides, leaks, rumors. He knew which classes ruled PvP, which races dominated raids.
This was his shot to break free.
"Human Warrior," he whispered. Safe. Reliable. The strongest start.
He reached to confirm—
The screen flickered.
[Error: Hardware instability detected.]
[Assigning random starter class.]
"What?"
The choices shattered like glass. His reflection stared back at him from the shards—tired eyes, unshaven jaw, a man already discarded by the world.
Then—
[Congratulations. You have received the Hidden Class: Graveborn.]
[Status: Defective.]
[Abilities: None.]
"…You've got to be kidding me."
Even here, he was trash.
Kade's fists trembled.
Guilds would blacklist him.
Players would laugh.
Defective meant obsolete.
But the screen glitched.
Letters twisted.
[Unique System Detected.]
[Initializing synchronization with host.]
[Trait: Death Conversion unlocked.]
[Effect: Each death grants permanent stat growth.]
Kade froze.
His heart pounded.
A system that rewarded death?
A bitter laugh escaped his lips. "So I'm defective… but every failure makes me stronger?"
Hope sparked in his chest.
---
The void shattered.
Kade stood in a sunlit valley dotted with stone ruins.
New players spawned around him in flashes of light.
"Holy crap, it looks so real!"
"Check out my sword! Rank-C starter weapon, baby!"
"Guild invites open! Join Bloodfang, first to raid!"
Kade glanced down.
Tattered gray robes.
A chipped dagger.
Skin pale, corpse-like.
He looked like something that had already lost.
Mocking voices followed:
"Whoa, did the game bug out?"
"Trash spawn. Stay away from him."
"Defective class. What a joke."
Kade ignored them.
The system chimed.
[Quest: Welcome to Elysium!]
[Objective: Slay 5 Forest Wolves.]
[Reward: Starter Pack, EXP, Weapon Upgrade.]
Wolves.
Doable—if he didn't die instantly.
He entered the forest.
Sunlight filtered through leaves. Shadows moved. Distant howls echoed.
Then—glowing eyes.
A wolf lunged.
Kade swung his dagger. Slow. Clumsy.
[-8 HP.]
Pain flared across his arm. Too real. His health dropped dangerously low.
The wolf pounced again.
[You have died.]
Darkness.
---
Then—
[Death Conversion activated.]
[Permanent stat increase: +1 Strength, +1 Endurance.]
Kade gasped.
He was back at the spawn point.
Alive. Stronger.
His fingers trembled. He could feel it—the dagger sat firmer in his grip.
A grin spread across his face.
"Alright. Let's test the limits."
Back into the forest.
Another wolf lunged. He didn't dodge.
Fangs tore into his throat.
[You have died.]
[Death Conversion activated.]
[Permanent stat increase: +1 Strength, +1 Agility.]
Resurrection. Stronger.
Five deaths later, his swings grew faster, sharper.
On his sixth attempt, his dagger buried itself into a wolf's neck.
The beast yelped, collapsed, dissolved into light.
[Quest Progress: 1/5 Wolves slain.]
Kade wiped his mouth, grinning like a madman.
Other players stared.
"Is that guy suiciding on wolves?"
"He's insane."
"Look at his eyes… he's enjoying it."
Kade didn't care.
He had found his path.
A defective class? No.
This was broken.
Every death, every failure, every loss—
…was his step closer to power.
He whispered into the trees:
"If the world wants me dead, then I'll die a thousand times…"
His grin widened.
"…and come back stronger, until nothing stands above me."
The legend of the Graveborn had begun.