"Now this is really the end..."
A familiar game screen unfolded before my eyes.
The game that had consumed half my life was shutting down for good.
It felt like saying goodbye to an old friend, a hollow ache filling my chest.
Those moments when I couldn't let go despite my mother's worried nagging.
Even with college entrance exams looming, I'd stayed logged in till dawn to take down an event boss,
only to nod off in the exam hall—memories like that.
I'm a full adult now,
but thinking this was the last time for Age of Legend still left a heavy pang in my heart.
Age of Legend, or "AoL" for short, was the RPG I'd been obsessed with since my school days, growing alongside me.
With its realistic graphics, vast immersive story, and expansive world, it once dominated PC bang charts as a legendary title.
Now only us "veterans" remained,
but fame or decline didn't matter to me.
This game had been my daily life for half my existence.
And now, that very routine had announced its shutdown yesterday.
"Ha... I get the devs' reasoning, which just pisses me off more."
Game companies need profits to keep servers running; they can't hold onto money-losers forever.
I understand. I really do...
'But at least give a heads-up a day earlier—or a week, a month ago...'
I slowly moved the mouse cursor to the character selection screen.
There they stood in a row—my avatars, no different from extensions of myself.
Hundreds, thousands of hours together.
Precious memories from level 1, nurtured carefully.
Each piece of gear crafted with immense effort and time—my unique characters.
Even top veterans would be impressed by their specs.
'How pathetic am I, pouring so much into these data scraps...'
"But it's the last time, so I gotta do it, right?"
The cursor trembled over the delete button.
AoL had a unique system.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Deleting a character grants points proportional to achievements and specs.
'Truth is, only quitters use this system...'
I'd tried it once out of curiosity when it launched—that was it.
Why?
'The points were trash.'
Veterans avoided it for good reason.
A max-level character, honed over thousands of hours,
my perfect clone decked in top gear—worth peanuts?
It felt like a master craftsman haggling his life's work at a street stall.
And those pitiful points let you do just two things:
Bump the Supernatural Ability gacha ceiling by one tier,
or slap a fancier backstory on your character.
But veterans know: fancy backstories ease difficulty and kill the fun.
The gacha's worse. Ceiling rises, floor stays rock-bottom.
Trash-tier odds dominate—like buying lottery tickets as a fool.
But with shutdown tomorrow,
what better ritual for the finale?
Warning: This action cannot be undone.
I selected each character I'd poured my heart into.
Clicking through over 10 pages felt like labor,
but my finger froze before the last five.
My main squad—the ones I'd lavished with utmost care.
The legendary swordsman who felled the final boss with a wooden sword; the mad gladiator who cleared dungeons bare-skinned; the freak mage swinging a massive hammer like it was nothing...
The holy healer with a saint's backstory, and the necromancer commanding thousands of elite skeletons.
After a brief hesitation, I clicked.
A level 1 with a god-roll ability is still level 1,
but so what?
The game's gone tomorrow anyway.
'Wonder how many points...'
Delete permanently?
No more doubts—I hit Yes.
Thousands of hours of memories shimmered one last time.
Like fireflies, their forms glowed faintly, breaking into tiny light particles,
sucked into the central crystal vial.
'All that time and passion... vanishing into thin air.'
The last speck vanished, and the zeroed points counter lit up.
⚔ STATUS ⚔💰 Owned Points: 9999"What the fuck."
Too low? Nah—I was stunned by the absurd excess.
My first max-level delete gave 15 points. 9999?
'Even deleting 99 characters, that doesn't add up.'
That's 100 per character—impossible.
Most were no different from that first one.
So...
'Just those last five...?'
Those five were on another level, specs so broken even I knew it.
'Ha, feels good—like my efforts got recognized.'
Time and love poured into them validated. Heart swelled with pride.
"Alright, momentum's hot—let's make a character!"
9999 points sparked gamer thrill, forgetting shutdown eve.
Can't suppress excitement for new challenges till the end?
Gamer instinct, I guess.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Please allocate your character's stats.
Veteran style: no hesitation, mouse flew allocating stats.
Stats can't be bought with points anyway; level 1 fixed at 20 total.
⚔ STATUS ⚔⚡ Strength: 5💨 Agility: 5❤️ Vitality: 10✨ Mana: 10Gamers might raise brows: What if the opposite Supernatural Ability pops?
'Then build around it, duh.'
AoL's abilities aren't normal anyway.
Take my main swordsman: Wooden Sword Swordmaster.
Sword skills maxed only with a wooden sword—not steel or magic blades.
'Don't remind me—I waged war on elves for World Tree shards to craft that world-ending wooden sword.'
Enmity with an entire race—still dizzying,
but the ecstasy of forging it...
'Pure bliss.'
That's AoL: no complacency in creation.
These stats? Optimal early-game split.
Vitality and mana universal needs.
"My final character starts as level 1 god—no gambling."
⚡ SUPERNATURAL ABILITY GACHA ⚡Basic Draw - Free
Low-Grade Draw - 100 Points
Mid-Grade Draw - 500 Points
High-Grade Draw - 1000 Points
Top-Grade Draw - 3000 Points
Character creation's crux.
This decides blessed or cursed.
Prices insane, as shown.
'Sigh... no wonder it flops. Delete a blood-sweat max-level for 15 points? Low-grade costs 100.'
With points, infinite rerolls beyond free.
But points? Rare as hen's teeth.
Low-grade's a stretch; double impossible.
"Heh... not for me."
⚔ STATUS ⚔💰 Owned Points: 9999Behold.
Three top-grade draws leave 999 spare—this ridiculous haul.
Crystallized skill of years.
"Let's spin."
Cursor crept to top-grade.
For this final character,
victory certain.
But then—
Ding!
✦ Hidden Achievement Unlocked ✦Ultimate Points MilestoneCongratulations! Cumulative points reached 9999.
Special reward: 'Ultimate Supernatural Ability Draw' unlocked.
Use now? [Yes] [No]
"..."
A hidden like this?
I'm the veteran who'd unearthed every secret—no one knew 'em all.
War on elves for World Tree shards, deep dungeon hidden paths, even dev-forgotten bugs.
Shocked at an unknown.
But seeing the condition, wry smile.
'9999 points to unlock? Basically "don't bother".'
But now? Gotta.
Veteran pride on line.
'First discoverer, me?'
Yeah—top-grade unseen; ultimate? Forget it.
Anyone hitting 9999 would've blown it all on top-grade.
Confident grin spread.
"Here we go~!"
Hit YES—
Monitor plunged into infinite darkness, like adrift in space.
Stars twinkled into view, forming a majestic galaxy.
"Insane!"
Awe burst out.
Faint stars blazed brighter,
bathing the screen in mystical blue.
"Urk..."
Staring made vision sway.
Tried screaming—silent.
Ears numbed, mind fogged,
consciousness yanked into that cosmic void...
Everything blacked out.
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Read 234 more chapters ahead on NovelDex!
https://noveldex.io/series/im-pretending-to-be-the-strongest-to-survive
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