Zack was still searching for information when he heard the door open. It was a digital door that unlocked only after a password was entered.
Rin walked in carrying breakfast and spotted Zack at his setup.
"Yo, here's your burnt toast with an egg," he said.
Zack took it and ate anyway. He had already eaten earlier, but for some reason, he was still hungry.
He glanced at Rin, who was busy munching on a burrito.
The game was clearly dangerous, and Zack knew his monetized channels alone could be enough to give him away, even with a VPN in place. And that was only what he knew.
If there were other ways to track him, then his current location was far from safe. Although only the blond guy had shown up so far, he didn't want to take any risks especially after seeing the images and videos circulating online.
He was certain that someone powerful was working behind the scenes of Immortals Conflict.
There was no way all of this could exist without deep connections. Even though most systems were managed by AI, development was still overseen by human developers and programmers, all funded by DraTX, who was a major corporation based in Isendrax.
Isendrax was known for its massive oil reserves and thriving tourism industry. It was also where ancient texts related to God Krapt had been discovered, which later became the basis for naming the planet itself.
Because of this, the nation attracted pilgrims from across the world and stood as the richest nation on Krapt.
Zack glanced at Rin and suddenly blurted out, "Hey… I want to move in with you."
Rin, mid-bite on his burrito, immediately choked as if something had gone down the wrong way. After a few violent coughs and a very personal struggle with the laws of breathing, he finally looked up at Zack, wide-eyed. "..."
Rin said slowly, eyeing him like he had just committed a crime against nature, "did crashing with me mess up your preferences or something?"
"I know I'm handsome and cool, but still—"
Zack cut him off instantly. He knew exactly where this was going and stopped him before it got worse.
For a moment, Zack hesitated, unsure how to explain. Then he pulled up the news and showed it to Rin.
Rin took the phone and read through the article, his eyebrows lifting.
"Does this game have the same issues as the first VR release?" he asked, then answered himself. "No… there weren't any problems during the beta."
He looked up, studying Zack now.
"This is big," he said. "Is this really a national-level move to shut down DraTX?"
Zack thought it over, staring at the floor. Not explaining the game didn't magically make him safe. Even if he stayed quiet, the situation was bad enough that he could still end up like the missing or the dead.
In the end, he told Rin everything.
About the blond man who had shown up uninvited, carrying knowledge that scraped close to Zack's past. And the deadly reality inside Immortals Conflict.
Rin listened without interrupting. When Zack finished, Rin placed a hand on Zack's forehead and muttered, "Hmm… not a fever."
The next second, Rin's arm shot around Zack's neck in a tight squeeze, pressing him under his armpit. Using the chair as leverage, he tipped Zack sideways.
"You idiot," he said. "Do you think I was born yesterday? The news might look real, but whatever this is, it's definitely not the prank you're trying to pull on me."
Zack had been completely caught off guard. After a few tense seconds of struggling, he finally shoved Rin away and lay there, unsure whether to laugh or groan.
From Rin's perspective, it probably looked like he was trolling him, but everything he had said was true, aside from a few details he had deliberately left out.
His second-place ranking, for one, along with some other minor things.
He had already looked through the game recordings as it was the best way to prove it, but whoever was behind it had been thorough; every part connected to the Champions Game was blacked out.
After they both caught their breath and stopped glaring at each other, Rin spoke again.
"Fine. Let's pack up. And congrats on finishing your thesis," he said. "Just say you want a break. I was sure you would jump straight into a job, but this works too."
He paused, scratching his head, humoring him. "I was actually thinking of asking you to relocate anyway. This nation isn't exactly known for being safe, even if Abyss and Graycurrent set a pretty low bar."
Zack understood what Rin meant. Not all of Aroliz was the same.
Aroliz was a coastal nation surrounded by sea, infamous for the kind of people it attracted. It had a long history of sheltering people who didn't want to be found. Criminals, fugitives, ghosts, you name it.
Even though crime had decreased in recent years, it remained a place where most criminals went to hide.
They were currently in Nullwak, one of the nation's most heavily regulated states. It housed major banks, universities and data centers.
As a result, few dared to commit crimes and on the rare occasions even when they did, security was strict and the responses were swift.
Abyss was the opposite. The state was effectively controlled by criminal syndicates, where violence was routine and death's barely raised an eyebrow.
And then there was Graycurrent; a sprawling refuge zone packed with displaced people. Someone went missing there almost every day, and the authorities rarely paid attention.
"Let's pack and move," Zack said, as if the decision had already been made.
Rin stared at him, momentarily speechless. After everything he had just said, this guy was still trying to sell that story? Really?
Shaking his head, Rin reached into his jacket, pulled out his phone, and made a call, silently wondering how someone could keep a straight face through all of that.
***
They were currently in the Stormlin area, where most of the Storm control towers and navigation systems were located.
Zack had never been to Rin's place before.
He had known Rin was rich, from his branded clothes to his flashy shoes but seeing the gate and villa made him realize this guy wasn't just rich; he was a full-on chaebol. The property had its own forest and a lake.
They had booked a cab to get there, and Zack noticed the driver sweating bullets. This was a private property, and he clearly worried about getting into trouble despite Rin repeatedly saying, "Don't worry, sir. It's mine."
The deeper they went, the more the driver's eyes seemed to bore into Rin. Zack's expression remained icy, his gaze drifting towards the lake and forest visible through the car window as he asked, "Are you sure, it's yours?"
The driver froze. "Uh… sir?"
"Positive," Rin said quickly, waving a hand. "It's mine. Really."
Then, with the best smile he could muster, he added, "Sir, can't you see my face? Do you really think it wouldn't be mine? I'm not boasting.. but some people have even changed their preferences just from seeing this dashing face." He glanced at Zack while saying it.
Zack said nothing, his face perfectly unreadable, letting the driver stew in the cold intensity of his stare. Rin, desperate to assert himself, even flexed muscles that didn't exist.
The driver's hands twitched toward the gearshift, clearly unconvinced. Rin sat frozen, speechless, muttering inwardly, I can't believe this guy is going to live here rent-free… and I have to deal with him.
Finally, they arrived at Rin's villa, bringing only the essentials.
The property was enormous, a driveway that disappeared into a manicured forest. A crystal-clear lake reflected the late afternoon sun, its surface so still it looked like glass.
The villa itself was a sprawling, modern structure with sleek stone walls, tall windows, and balconies that overlooked both the lake and the surrounding forest.
Inside, the ceilings were high, and sunlight poured through floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating polished marble floors and tasteful furnishings.
Paintings of abstract landscapes adorned the walls, and the faint scent of fresh flowers lingered in the air.
A wide staircase led up from the first floor, where a few rooms opened off a polished hallway, to the second floor, which housed most of the villa's bedrooms.
Rin, as the host, gestured casually toward the rooms upstairs and said Zack could pick any he liked.
Zack settled on what Rin called Room 7, a spacious corner room with two large windows framing the lake.
Rin's own room, Room 10, was slightly larger and featured a private balcony that caught the sunset just right.
The numbers didn't actually exist; Rin just made them up to keep track of which room was whose.
Though he hated owing Rin anything, Zack didn't have the luxury to care about his pride.
At least here, at Rin's place, he didn't have to worry about his safety. From the moment he stepped inside, he noticed the villa was practically a fortress, with security personnel stationed throughout.
The VR capsules were scheduled to arrive by 7 PM, and even though he had wasted some time, he sure as hell didn't want to end up dead in some alley or worse, while playing in a VR capsule.
He unpacked his things in his room. The closet alone was bigger than some entire apartments he had seen, and he couldn't stop wondering why Rin even bothered to crash at his place.
Was something wrong with his head? Not that Rin's head had always been entirely in the right place.
With plenty of time to think about the game and his friend's unusual background, Zack's thoughts ran in circles.
He even considered quitting the game altogether but he had no way of knowing what would happen if he did. The people behind it were powerful, far more powerful than he was ready to face. In the end, he pushed the thought aside and focused on the game.
His skill set was mostly fixed, leaving him little room for flexibility. He needed a way to counter anti-magic abilities and some kind of lifeline against assassin-class players.
He ran through every strategy he could think of, but most of them depended too much on luck.
First, he could power level and invest everything into VIT.
Second, he needed to work on his equipment's.
Even with plenty of gold, equipment that boosted both HP and INT were so rare on the market that he couldn't find any.
That was why he had been using his worn-down gear. Zack let out a long sigh. He would need to farm rare mobs or dungeon bosses to get better gears that suited him.
As for field bosses, he could try his luck; after the server patch, the devs had announced that field bosses respawn seven days after being killed.
Since the server reset, most field bosses had already been defeated, except for the one at Frost Peak Ridge.
Zack went after the Leviathan, while the others had already been claimed and slain by other players.
Some of these bosses dropped epic gear suitable for mages, as he had seen in a player's shared post. But with so many players vying for them, he could only keep looking as the odds were slim.
Third, he could focus on leveling his skills. Maybe Detect Level 3 would work against assassin's stealth. Zack wasn't sure, but the skill description suggested the chances were quite high.
The installation team cleared out at 7:25 PM, leaving the VR capsule behind. Zack took a slow breath. Whatever waited for him inside the game was beyond his control but he had done everything he could to protect himself.
[System]
Login successful. Welcome to Immortals Conflict.
By the time he entered the game, he was already outdone in the Level Rankings.
He had expected that other players would eventually catch up, but he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.
The advantage he had built was clearly slipping away. Playing it safe wouldn't cut it anymore. If he wanted to survive against those players, he would have to take risks.
With that thought driving him, he set off toward his next destination.