Chapter 1: Oh My God, After Rebirth, I Became an NPC?
[Player 1: I was in bed with my husband when suddenly I ended up in a game. Are you there, husband?]
[Player 6: In!]
[Player 8: I'm here!]
[Player 14: I've always been here.]
[Player 9: Where are you? I'll come find you and finish what we started.]
[Player 1: Shameless.]
[Player 2: Stop teasing my sister-in-law. I finally have a chance to show off my skills in-game. Don't ruin the moment.]
[Player 4: Which Novice Village are you in? I spawned in Novice Village 10086.]
[Player 5: I'm at 9527.]
[Player 6: I'm at 10010…]
Adrian Cross's eyes snapped open. They were bloodshot, wild, filled with hate.
"Vanessa Moore! Nathan Reed! Damn you both…"
The words tore out of him as a guttural growl, more beast than man.
"Adrian? What's wrong? Why are you sweating like that?"
The voice was light, clear, feminine. Adrian turned sharply.
Behind him stood a girl with soft, bright eyes. Twin ponytails bounced as she shifted nervously. The starry hem of her skirt shimmered in the morning light, casting little flecks of silver against the stone square.
For a moment, Adrian froze. That face… radiant, innocent, achingly familiar.
"Claire Summers… you're still alive?"
The way he stared at her made Claire's cheeks flush crimson. She stammered something inaudible and turned, fleeing in embarrassment.
Adrian didn't follow. His gaze shifted back to the translucent chat screen flickering before him, lines of text rolling endlessly as new players shouted into the void. His fists tightened until his knuckles turned white.
"Am I… really reborn?"
The square around him was alive with chaos. Players appeared in bursts of light, dazed and confused, their voices a chorus of questions and disbelief. At the center of the plaza rose a towering stone stele. Etched into it was a vast disc marked with the twelve zodiac animals. Several runes glowed faintly in its heart.
Novice Village No. 10010.
The sight triggered a cascade of memories.
Adrian remembered everything.
He wasn't born into this world. He was a traveler, pulled from Earth to Blue Star. His parents had vanished without explanation, and he'd buried himself in his studies at Westbridge University's E-Sports Program, clinging to the one place he belonged.
Then came the day the skies split open with words of doom.
[Ten years from now, reality will merge with the game. The Abyss will descend upon Blue Star.
Prepare yourselves.
After a thirty-second countdown, the first chosen will be transported into Glory of the Gods.
Every ability you gain in this world will return with you once the merger is complete.]
The world had plunged into chaos. Screams. Riots. Hope. Despair.
And when the countdown hit zero, Adrian had been among the first to be drawn into the digital abyss.
He remembered the surge of power, the impossible stroke of luck. He had awakened a god-tier talent: The King's Avatar.
With it came the right to transfer into a hidden class — the Hexagonal Warrior, master of every path, from sword to spell, from smithing to strategy. His leveling curve was no faster than others', but each milestone granted him sixteen times the attribute points and skill points.
It was an advantage so vast it might as well have been destiny itself.
Adrian had soared ahead, a blazing star among mortals.
Until they appeared.
Vanessa Moore. The woman who had stolen his heart.
Nathan Reed. The brother-in-arms he had trusted more than anyone.
Their betrayal had shattered him.
He could still feel the knife. He could still hear the laughter.
Nathan's words, dripping with venom, replayed in his mind like a curse:
"You never imagined it, did you? Vanessa isn't yours. She's mine. My childhood sweetheart. My fiancée. I sent her to you untouched, just to watch you fall for the illusion."
"Do you know how it burned me, watching you both so sweet and perfect all these years?"
"And since you're about to die, I'll reward you with the truth."
Nathan had smiled that night and he has a smile of a viper.
"Vanessa and I both own Zodiac Jade Pendants. Each grants two talents above S-rank. Her first? The god-tier Blessing of the Auspicious Beasts — a 100% drop rate. Her second? The SSS-tier Charm. Any man who meets her gaze will love her instantly."
"And me? My first talent is the god-tier Forbidden Spell Mage. My second? Another god-tier: Killing and Plundering."
"You've always wondered why I leveled faster than you, Adrian. It's because I get ten chances a year to activate my gift. Every player I kill surrenders their accumulated experience. Sometimes even their talents."
He had laughed then, cruel and unrestrained.
"You ask why I waited? Because you were useful. Who else would forge the weapons for us? Who else would shield me from the families of the geniuses I've slain? Who else would lead the raids into dungeons no one else could clear?"
"You were loyal. Righteous. And now? Everything you've built — your strength, your kingdom, your woman — all of it belongs to me."
Adrian had been helpless as Nathan plunged the Death Dagger into his chest.
Pain. Betrayal. Darkness.
Vanessa's cold smile was the last thing he saw.
And then — the gem.
Crimson. Pulsing. The Eternal Demon Heart.
His final secret, the one gift he had meant to give Vanessa when they ascended to the divine realm together.
[Eternal Demon Heart — God-tier]
[Effect 1: Bestow god-tier talent Immortality on an ally. Cannot be used on yourself.]
[Effect 2: Detonate to offer part of your soul to the Lord of the Abyss. In exchange, you will be reborn. The memory of the sacrifice will be erased.]
"Detonate."
The word had been his last.
Then, silence.
Until now.
Adrian's breath came ragged, his chest heavy, but his eyes burned with cold fire.
"This nightmare… is over. Vanessa Moore. Nathan Reed. Your nightmare begins now."
He summoned his attribute panel.
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Name: Adrian Cross
Level: 1 (0/100)
Class: None
Talent: Unawakened
Stamina: 10
Strength: 10
Intelligence: 10
Agility: 10
Spirit: 120
Free Points: 5
Skill Points: 0
Combat Power: ★
Resurrections Remaining: 0
Rebirth Test Countdown: 23:57:23 (Click for details)
———————
At first glance, it matched his last life. But then his stomach dropped.
"No resurrection? Only one life left… even after rebirth?"
His mind raced.
The safest path would be to log out now. Walk away. Live quietly, away from the blood and betrayal.
But the thought curdled in his gut.
"No. Not without revenge. Not without making them pay."
He tried to open the system panel, searching for the exit command. His blood ran cold.
The button was gone.
It was as if a thunderclap exploded inside his skull.
"I can't leave… Does this mean I've merged with the game completely? What am I now? A player… or an NPC?"
His gaze shifted downward, catching on the last line of the panel.
"What's this countdown…?"
He clicked.
[Due to your abnormal soul state, if you reach level 30 before the timer expires, you will survive. Fail, and you will die permanently.]
Adrian stared at the numbers, ticking down second by second.
"One day to reach level 30…"
He clenched his fists until blood welled in his palms.
"Not impossible."
The retreat was gone. The bridge was burned.
There was only forward.
"To live. To rise. To take vengeance. I will become stronger than ever before."
He dismissed the panel, exhaling slowly.
Then he noticed it — a red dot glowing faintly on the corner of his backpack icon.
His brow furrowed. That shouldn't be possible. Fresh characters started with nothing.
He opened the inventory.
And froze.
Nestled in the first slot lay a shining jade pendant, glowing faintly with azure light.
The Jade of the Azure Dragon.
A super-artifact. The one item that could awaken a second hidden talent.
It had returned with him.
Adrian's lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile.
The game had given him another chance.
This time, he would not squander it.
This time, he would rise above gods.
And this time, Nathan Reed and Vanessa Moore would drown in the ruin they had once dealt him.
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