"Eden."

In the room filled with fragrances of herbs, a sweet soothing voice had woken the bedridden body up from a sleep, but the owner of the body was only half conscious of the mother who was calling her. 

The girl barely recognized the blurry figure by the voice.

Eden had an unknown illness which drained the infected vigor. Since her condition worsened, her family tried their best to find a remedy. However, there was a limit of what ex-low ranked adventurers could do. They couldn't afford a skilled doctor; all the doctors they called could not identify the cause.

The temporary measure was lessening the pain to keep her alive.

"Please wait a little longer. Dad is going to find a cure for you, sweetie," said her mother.

She touched her daughter's hand gently before the consciousness faded. 

 

______

'That dream again.'

Both eyes opened, seeing a familiar ceiling. Not the old medieval room, but his room, a common university student bedroom where there were textbooks and a virtual reality headset.

Either the dream or a soft ray of light that slipped through the curtains shone on the man's face, waking him up.

Lately, Remy had a problem with his sleep, finding himself repeating the same dream.

Although he couldn't see the girl's appearance because in the dream he had become Eden, coincidentally, she had exactly the same name as the character in the game, the most popular virtual reality game called Alt:World he was playing. 

He was not alone; there were hundreds who played saying in the forum that they had been experiencing this phenomenon. But the number was quite low compared to the total player population of AW.

The weird part was Eden in his dream was entirely different from the game. People undoubtedly considered him the top among players, but in his dream, Eden was sick and bedridden.

'Did I play the game too much? Not everyone who plays over ten hours per day has this issue.'

During summer break, he played the game around sixteen hours a day, which exceeded the game's recommendation by four hours. The reason he had been playing that much was because he had been making quite a fortune by selling game items.

The character in the game was called Eden, a female character. Since AW didn't restrict player gender choice, there were many players who wanted to play as the opposite gender, and Remy was one of them.

Apart from his choice of curiosity, he became well known as one of the top unlisted rankers as an all-rounder.

Role classified type of players in terms of combat ability, namely tank[1], support[2], disruptor[3], and DPS[4]. Without restrictions, for example, a player could play as a pure DPS or semi-tank depending on their character build[5] or play style.

Remy's character might not be specialized, but his control skill was considered well versed in every aspect to where he could do a solo or small party boss raid with no troubles.

*Buzz buzz*

A phone that was vibrating took the man's attention. Remy reached to grab the phone. With a quick glance over the screen, Remy answered the call.

"Hey, sis."

[Have you eaten breakfast?]

"Not yet." 

[I've heard about a serial killer in Seoul, so mom asked me to check if you're okay, but it seems you're doing well.] 

"It's pretty far from where I live. There’s nothing to worry about."

[I know our parents haven’t supported your living expenses, so don't forget to come back once in a while. That's it. Bye!]

It had been two years since Remy left his home. It was rough for him at first, but he had been living a luxurious life because of the game. His family wasn't poor. Because they were against the idea of studying abroad, it was an agreement that he had to earn money while studying if he chose to.

'I don't wanna cook.'

Remy went outside the bedroom, straight to the fridge, and grabbed a roll of kimbap and a can of coffee.

*Buzz buzz*

As he sat down at a table, there was another call.

[Eyyy, when are you going to enter AW?]

Bright and loud voice came out. Remy couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

"AW my ass. Minho, isn't it too early?" said Remy, who was looking at the clock; it was 8 am.

[There's a raid meeting. This time it's not just us, but with three other guilds. Not to mention that it's the game's last boss.]

"Can't we just rely on our intuition like we used to? Rewards are split by contribution and the mercy of RNGsus[6], anyway."

[Pffff! Last time you messed up Phoenix Guild's burst[7], didn't you? Do you know their leader thinks that you're a girl in real life? That's why they didn't complain. Haha, he got trapped.]

"But my last attack dealt enough damage to finish the boss."

[It's Elragna. Haven't we tried raiding by ourselves several times? You know how tanky that thing is.]

Elragna, the name of Alt:World's last boss, was a gigantic dragon that many had failed to kill, and Remy's party was also one of those.

"Ugh… fine. If the leader-nim thinks it's necessary, I'll be there."

Remy could do many things as an all-rounder, but being a leader or a shot caller was a different matter, so the role of leader was given to Spicy Kimchi or Kim Minho, a sole healer in the party.

Although Remy and other party members were capable of making an excellent decision, it was nearly impossible to provide their attention to something outside their roles. It wasn't the case for support, since their actions were decided by looking at a whole situation.

"What's the time again?"

[Next two hours. Don't be late.]

"Alright."

After hanging the call, Remy finished his morning routine and headed into the virtual world.

 

_____

Elragna Lair, the place in Alt:World where top players gathered to challenge the last boss. This place was a normal and quiet valley until the moment that players set their foot in this area; It had become catastrophic.

The sky was dark, filled with thunderclouds. A part of the land was scorching, freezing, and some were carved into canyons. Firestorm, blizzard, poisonous mist, and many more disastrous magics were unleashed by the only monster on the field, Elragna.

It had been almost a day in the game since the raid began. At the moment, the boss monster had entered the last phrase after its wings were severed.

In the fray, two figures were trying their best to survive bombarding magic bullets and claws. One was a knight in full plate armor, holding a two-hand sword, and another was a redhead girl clad in black.

“This fucking giant lizard! Usually human sized raid bosses are harder to fight, but these debuffs[8] are more pain in the ass. It’s like fighting a high-ranked witch with no skill cooldowns[9] and a kraken on drugs!” said the man.

“Haha, agreed. Just the mana storm makes me feel nauseous.”

Eden, or Remy, laughed, trying to lighten the mood despite knowing that it wasn’t helping; everyone was wounded and tired, including Eden.

“Don’t lie, you battle junkie. You look fine.”

[Hey, hey! Don’t forget to keep the aggro[10]! I’ve seen its eyes looking at Daedalus Guild’s archers several times already! It’s going to be awhile until we switch with other’s guild vanguard.] said Spicy Kimchi in the party voice chat.

“Dude! It has been ten minutes and they’re not recovered?”

[Their healers messed up Cleanse timing. I know it’s hard to be vanguards with few people, so hang in there for a bit.]

“Let’s give it another burst. Luxus, are you ready?”

“I’ll be able to do the rotation[11] in twenty seconds.” Luxus answered.

“Adine?”

[Ready, although I don’t have much ammo left.] Adine, the gunner and only range DPS of the party, replied.

[Luxus, get into the position. Eden, pull the aggro alone. It’s almost that the boss will spam projectiles- Adine, intercept those magics. I’ll keep a debuff immunity and use it when the time’s right.] Spicy Kimchi gave a quick command of each member. 

“Shit... That’s hard, but I’ll try.”

"I'll head there first." Luxus said before he went to Elragna's chest, leaving Eden alone.

'Time to get this giant lizard's attention.'

"Titan Strength, Sharpen, Force Amplification."

Eden had used multiple enhancement skills[12] preparing for her next attack.

"Mountain Cleave."

As Eden tightened her grip, a red, sinister aura engulfed her sword. With all her might, she leapt up and swung the sword at the monster's head. A sharp crescent wave was launched from the blade, flying to the monster's neck. However, it only left a line of shallow cuts on the monster’s scale. 

Dragon scale was said to be one of the hardest materials in Alt:World, not to mention scales of the game’s final boss. As a single player, leaving a dent was considered an impressive feat.

*Growl*

Eden succeeded; the dragon was pissed.

Suddenly, countless magic circles appeared out of thin air. In a split second later, a rain of magic arrows was shot; most of them focused on Eden.

The eyes of Elragna were fixed on the aggressor. Noticing the change and debuffs, Spicy Kimchi quickly cast his skills on Eden.

[Cleanse, Divine Protection, Prana Coat.] 

The buffs[13] Eden received from Spicy Kimchi were sent as if a warning message. Eden used another series of skills, but this time their purpose was to increase the survivability. She shared a buff to Adine, who was waiting from afar.

"Hasten, Fortify, Senses Heighten, Brain Overclock.- Boon Sharing."

The buffs she gave to Adine were Hasten and Brain Overclock. One increased the moment speed, and another increased brain processing speed.

Everything happened fast. Dodging, blocking, deflecting, and parrying- Eden did whatever it takes to ensure their plan's succession. 

[Rapid Shot.]

Adine fired multiple shots like a machine gun. With her aiming skill, all her shots hit magic arrows with perfect accuracy. But even though Adine had intercepted half of them with her pinpoint sniping skill, it was impossible to stay unscratched.

“Ugh!”

With a deceiving look, a magic arrow was destructive, as if a bullet shot from a rail gun rifle. It penetrated through the armor, leaving holes in her shoulder and leg.

[Great Heal.] 

As soon as Eden got hit, Spicy Kimchi healed her wounds instantly. It was a perfectly timed healing.

[Almost fully charged.] Luxus signaled.

[Next switch will be ready in a minute. Give it all you got!] The leader informed the other guild circumstance.

"Position Rewind."

Magic arrows pierced through the empty air. Then Eden appeared several meters away. While surviving against magic arrows, Eden pulled herself away from the monster, so that she could use time magic to return herself back to previous spot.

Eden dashed to the place where her teammate was waiting. On her way there, the dragon swiped and stomped its claws, preventing her from approaching. Fast and ferocious, each strike created a shock wave, carving the ground into a ravine.

Even if the dragon’s attacks missed, it shook the surrounding air that could blow its enemy away. Eden forced herself through those forces, taking damage as a result.

“Fortress Wrecker!” 

Upon Eden’s arrival, Luxus, who was charging his attack, charged his shield at Elragna, creating a crack on its chest.

<Elragna’s chest defense was significantly reduced.>

The system message informed both warriors that it was time to strike. Eden and Luxus nodded to each other before they split to both sides of the monster’s chest.

“Minotaur Rush.”, “Shield Slam.” 

An elbow on the left and the shield on the right, together they executed a synchronous attack, crushing both sides of Elragna’s chest.  

“...!!!”

The dragon screeched, but there was no sound coming out. Its lungs had already been deflated by devastating blunt forces, squeezing out all the air inside. 

<Elragna’s was silenced. All Elragna's spells cannot be cast during the effect of the status.>
<Elragna’s was stunned.>

The dragon wouldn’t be weakened for long, but this window was enough for the players to press the attack. With this opportunity, other groups of frontliners rejoined the fight as soon as they heard the system message.

[The boss HP[14] is around three percent, and they’re about to drop a nuke. Luxus, retreat from the front and be standby.]

“Got it, leader.”

The raiding group was about to deal with as much damage as they could in a short amount of time. It was common for low mobility players to avoid friendly fire in Alt:World. Luxus, who wore heavy armor, had no choice but to retreat because dying would reduce his contribution point.

“I won't be far in case that thing goes south.” Luxus waved before he left.

Led by a blond haired man in dark gray armor, groups of reinforcement had arrived. All guilds had sent their best damage dealers to finish the monster. 

Three percent of Elragna’s total HP was still not low enough to finish it. However, all players were at their limit; the supply was also running out. There was no better time to attack than when the boss monster was disabled. 

“Good work.” 

It was a brief moment, but the man commended Eden before he and the others jumped into the fray.

Styx, the first ranked player and professional player who everyone looked up to, had returned to the battlefield. To receive a compliment from the best, who wouldn't get fired up?

‘Finally, the best moment of the raid had come—it was time to all-in.’ Eden pulled out her last mana[15] potion from her inventory and drank it in one go.

"Adine, shall we try to get the last hit[16]?"

[Okay.] Adine replied.

[Haha, I guess all damage dealers are the same—Mass Cleanse, Mass Debuff Immunity, Mass Blessing, Gloria.]  

Before his friends went ham, Spicy Kimchi spent his remaining mana, giving them a final push.

“Boon Rewind, Asura Wrath, Tranquil, Chronostasis.”

<The player has entered a half-berserk stage. During this stage, the player is fully conscious. HP of the player will reduce over time.>
<The player's statuses, health points, and body condition remain unchanged until the player's mana runs out. After Chronostasis, health will be reduced accordingly.>

Boon Rewind allowed Eden to regain all the buffs she had received since the start of the battle, combining with Chronostasis that frozed all buffs' durations as well as her physical condition. 

With Eden's remaining HP less than one tenth, strength and agility stats were quadrupled. It was the ideal condition for a berserker.

Clad in crimson aura, Eden dashed forward with inhuman speed, going straight to the chest area where Elragna's defense was vulnerable.

"Herculean Thrust."

Piercing through the scale, blood sprayed out like a fountain. Eden had inflicted a mortal wound on the dragon.

Others didn't stay idle either. The dragon was attacked from the top with ranged attacks, while vanguards dealt damage from the bottom.

The pain had awakened the dragon. However, in the heat of the battle, not everyone was aware of it.

"It has recovered!" 

As soon as someone shouted, Elragna started rampaging. Those who couldn't react were swiped into pieces as if they were papers.

While immersing herself in the battle, Eden didn't hear the scream of those players. She kept dodging over and over, like a red comet dancing on the battlefield. And every time the dragon attacked, she left a cut on its arms.

"Giant Swing."

The magic blast had swept the entire field, but Eden used the skill instinctively, splitting the part of magic where she stood.

Even though she might survive after being hit, getting pushed back meant she would lose her offensive advantage.

The backline didn't suffer much losses, but most of the frontline disappeared.

'I'm almost out of mana.'

"Undying Warrior."

Chronostasis would be considered the best skill in the game if the user didn't receive accumulated damage at the end duration effect. That was why Eden used another skill to prevent her from death.

She had been receiving a lot of indirect damage combined with the side effect of the berserk status, she could have been dead without using Undying Warrior skill which allowed the player to survive any damage for a short period of time.

Without resting, Eden rammed a flurry of slashes on the dragon.

At the moment that the number of boss HP reached almost zero, she swiftly delivered a finishing blow.

"Mountain Cleave!"

*SCREECH!!!*

With everyone putting their remaining power into their last attacks, the dragon had finally fallen.

When the gigantic body smashed the ground, everything was clouded with dust yet the eyes of the dragon were visible, glowing with a faint light.

'You… will… suffer, human.' 

Before the eyes closed, a voice entered Eden's mind.

<You had received The Curse of Elragna.>

'Curse? Even though the developer confirmed that this is the last story quest, it seems that there will be a sequel.' Eden thought.

There was no debuff status on the game window, so Eden concluded the curse was related to the story progression.

<Elragna has been slain.>
<Final story event, The World Ender has been cleared.>
<Calculating the rewards.>

"What a ride," said the knight.

Luxus regrouped with Eden while fixing his gaze on the giant corpse. Over the past four months, players attempted to kill the last boss and the total number of attempts was more than a thousand. Seeing the corpse of the final boss monster was an unbelievable sight for him.

"Yeah, I'm beat... We’ve been playing the role of wildcard in this raid." Eden sighed. 

Not only physical fatigue, she felt like her brain was frying.

“Damn… If we didn't meet, I wouldn't know that mixing three builds like enchanter, chronomancer, and berserker would be this monstrous. But, the stat[17] distribution is all over the place."

"I know, right? I thought it was fun to try, and didn't expect it to work either. You know you don't have to put a skill point on sword skill if you know how to use a sword?"

"You're crazy. What about Mountain Cleave and other attack skills?"

"I had some skill points left, so I put them on highlander skills since they’re simple and have short animation frames—. If you think I’m crazy, Adine is more extreme than me- far more extreme."

“Yeah… Most of her skills are passive skills. Sometimes I wonder if she's an assassin in the real world."

[I can hear that,] said Adine.

Her voice seemed normal, yet for some reason both Eden and Luxus felt her killing intent.

[I envy that you had a chance to see Styx's combo, Swords of Seven Stars, up-close. How was it?] Spicy Kimchi couldn't hide his fanboy hype.

"Sorry, I was too focused" 

"It was quite chaotic, so…" 

[I was on the scope.]

After the three responded, Spicy Kimchi couldn't hide his disappointment.

[You guys…]

<The evaluation is completed.>

Not only Eden and her friends, everyone silenced. They quickly fixed their focus on their system window.

 

<Player Name: Eden
Overall Contribution Rating: S
Overall Rank: 20th
DPS Rank: 56th
…
Special Bonus: Last Shot Bonus - increases the tier of the reward pool by 1.>

 

‘I did it!’

Eden was disappointed by her DPS rank, but she got the last hit bonus that everyone fought over.

<Randomizing the reward from SS-rank pool.>

It was the time that everyone was looking for, the time that everyone had to pray to the one and only god of fortune, RNGsus. Slot machine windows appeared in front of each player and started spinning.

Finally, the rolls had stopped. 

<You’ve been granted freedom.>

Eden was puzzled by the system. Normally, the game would give an item or occasionally a skill, but the game hadn’t given this kind of reward. Moreover, the system didn’t explain details of the reward

“I got an equipment set”

[A weapon and a skill.]

[Same with Adine.]

“In-game privilege…?” 

<Humans, do you enjoy the game?>

Another window popped up; this time it was unusual. The question and the multiple choice answers were like a feedback survey. The text itself was strange; rather than being written in a polite tone, it started off like the person who wrote was roleplaying a deity or some sort.

"Is this a survey from God Inc.?""

"Who knows?"

"So, what they said about the final boss was a lie."

"Where's the NPCs[17]? Shouldn't they come to progress the story towards epilogue?"

The crowd started talking about the recent system message. This was the first time they got a survey in the game while the game company normally posted a survey link on the website or their social media account.

‘Yes’ Eden pressed the button.

<Would you like to experience more content in the future?>

‘Yes’

<Would you rather be yourself or the character in the game?>

Eden hesitated. 

Eden, no—Remy wouldn’t want to live as a girl. But if the question meant if a player enjoyed playing a game or living a harsh life in the real world, he would probably choose video games.

‘Of course, game.’

<Waiting for the result from every human on Earth.>

‘What a weird and quick survey.’ 

There was no further question. 

Eden patiently waited while looking at other players; some were confused, others cared little and went through the survey. Shortly, a new system message appeared, and this time it was getting peculiar.

<The game will shut down in 10 seconds.>
<The majority of humanity had voted to participate in the next game.>

“What the hell is this?”

“Next game? Or the next stage?”

“So, the game will be out of service or what?”

Others muttered, but no one could answer those questions. These players, who poured their time and dedication to the game, were mostly top 500 rankers. It was common to be overreacted or frustrated after reading the first message.

“What does this mean?” While Eden remained calmed, it was Luxus who couldn’t hide his emotion.

<Entertain us, human.>

That glitching message was the last thing players saw before their world turned dark.

 

_____

‘My body feels heavy... Is this deja vu?’ 

After the girl opened her eyes, she looked around. 

‘Wait, isn’t it my room?’

It was Remy who woke up in Eden’s body. However, this Eden was similar to the one in the dream, not as weak but emaciated. 

The girl took off virtual reality headset, slowly stood with all her strength and headed to the mirror.

“What the hell… Ugh!”

A series of memories entered her mind; it was the memories of the body’s owner.

As she went on her knees, her whole body trembled; both hands were pressing her head like she was trying to crush her head. There was a sharp pain, as if the brain was electrocuted.

Although the pain was over, the body couldn’t stop shaking.

There were both recollections of Remy and Eden where the mind which resided in the body was confused if their identity was Remy or Eden.

“Aaa…. A…” The girl couldn’t speak a word.

*BOOM!*

There was an explosion. As the girl got up and looked outside the window, her pair of sapphire eyes widened.

Since the room was on the fourteenth floor, the view was unobstructed. Gunshots, smoke, and fire were all over the city; it had become a war zone.

An unbearable pain reemerged. This time it was torturous to the point that one would scream in agony.

*Thud*

The girl fell down and shuddered. The identity crisis created fear and confusion that slowly consumed her mind.

After a long struggle, the girl had fainted.

 

__________

Game Terms

[1] Tank: a frontline role in RPG (roleplaying game) games specialized in protecting allies from attacks
[2] Support: a role in roleplaying in RPG games specialized in increasing allies advantage(s). They usually have healing abilities.
[3] Disruptor: a role in roleplaying in RPG games specialized in weakening an enemy or reducing their advantage(s).
[4] DPS/ Damage Dealer: a role in roleplaying in RPG games specialized in inflicting damage to an enemy.
[6] RNGsus: The god of gacha and randomness.
[7] Burst: Refers to an act of dealing massive damage to an enemy in a short timeframe.
[8] Debuff: A negative effect that weakens a target.
[9] Cooldown: A certain period a player has to wait in order to use a skill again.
[10] Aggro: Enemy’s attention which makes an enemy decide who to attack.
[11] Rotation: A set of skills that a player groups and uses them sequentially.
[12] Skill: Refers to an ability of a game character.
[13] Buffs: An effect that strengthens a target.
[14] HP (Health Points/ Hit Points): A resource that represents a state of living for a game character.
[15] Mana: A resource to pay in order to use magic.
[16] Last Hit/ Last Shot: Last hit that kills a target.
[17] NPC: Non Player Character.