Deep inside a foreboding cavern, the sound of a sword hitting a hard object reverberated through the air.
A towering demonic figure stood motionless, casting a watchful gaze upon his contracted summoner. His dark aura embodied the essence of conflict and chaos.
How could he, a higher level of existence, one of the revered Four Horsemen from the depths of hell, the very embodiment of War itself, be reduced to a mere instrument?
He had never thought there would come a day when he would get summoned just to clear a nest of insignificant beings. His fiery eye sockets narrowed to a slit as he tried to sound out the connection between the two of them.
And what he got from the resonance was... Frustration.
That's right.
The main protagonist of the story, Lunis, who was currently known as Lucas Stuvian, was feeling frustrated.
***********
I landed another strike on the dungeon boss reward as a line of curses filled my mind.
"F*CK! I made a heavy sacrifice just to get to the bottom of this, and this is what I got in the end? G**D FCKIN D*MN IT!"
Every time I hit the box out of frustration, my interface taunted me with the same repetitive content.
«Your Level is not high enough to open the starter package.»
Who in their right mind decided to impose a level limitation on a starter pack reward?!
I felt like I was losing another fragment of my sanity. But I had to maintain my composure. It was already terrifying enough to find myself trapped in this game-turned-reality, along with the traumatizing experience that I had recently gone through in this dungeon.
It all started with me exploiting well-known glitches in the game. I thought I'd score a free teleportation pass, but instead, I was confronted with a screen offering a gameplay enhancement. It didn't sound bad since it was only asking whether I wanted to be part of the 100% synchronization program, and I couldn't let the chance slip away despite its shady nature.
The next thing I knew, I had been unceremoniously transported to a dungeon where mobs could easily kick my ass to death. Not only that, I had to move and perform my abilities in a life-like manner. How sick was that? I could execute them somehow because my senses had been heightened beyond what I could fathom.
However, things took a crazy turn when I realized I was trapped, unable to contact anyone or quit the game.
The creeping unease intensified as the magnitude of the situation sank in—the sheer madness of it all.
Meeting a god,
Forging a contract,
—followed by increasingly bizarre and chaotic events. If it weren't for the existence of my character and the game interface, I would have believed I had been transported to an entirely different world. Perhaps I had, but I didn't want to dwell on it too much, fearing that it would heighten my anxiety to an even greater level.
How did I manage to stay sane after all of this? Well...
My attention was momentarily diverted as a ray of light emanated from the dead dragon's chest. This dragon was the boss of this dungeon from which I obtained this starter pack box.
I got up and moved closer to the area where it was glowing. It was located inside the body of the monster, so I had to crouch down and get it with my hand.
Normally, such an act would make me feel repulsed to do so. I guess the countless monster carcasses strewn about from my summon's carnage had numbed me to this sight.
I got it.
I pulled my hands back, holding a still-beating heart encased in a crystallized container with runes floating around it. It was an awe-inspiring sight that left me impressed, and slightly disturbed.
«You have obtained a Dragon Heart.
Dragon Heart is a precious ingredient that can be used for alchemy and rituals.
You currently have no ability to harness the power of the item to your class.»
Too bad. I would see what I could do with this later. I wasn't satisfied with the disappointing starter pack, but since this Dragon Heart sounded legendary, I supposed it would do.
With a grunt, I stowed it in my inventory alongside the box. Thank goodness the inventory was still working well. Else I wouldn't have survived long enough if not for the potions I had stocked up in case of emergencies.
As a Paladin class, my healing spells, which were dependent on "faith," were useless back then.
I didn't know how to access that power. It was not until I was put in a desperate situation that I resorted to "praying" to my in-game patron goddess for healing, only to encounter a different god altogether.
Speaking of which, I felt like I was forgetting something.
I finally looked at the towering figure behind me.
...
If I kept on treating everything like I was still in the game, I could somehow fool myself and avoid being overly intimidated by my surroundings. However, after witnessing how my summon effortlessly decimated enemies, I couldn't help but swallow a little.
From the description, it said that his title was one of the Horsemen generals. In fact, he was loaned to me by that god.
About 2.7 meters, War's body took the shape of a muscular humanoid figure clad in black spiky armor, defined by the dancing flames that pulsed from his exposed body from time to time. He was undeniably menacing. The area on his breastplate showed a familiar sigil that matched his summoning circle. No matter how you looked at it, this huge figure was the definition of evil.
Take note, this was the guy who smashed the creatures like ants, including the dragon. He could easily erase my existence, so it was impossible not to feel apprehensive when speaking.
[Do you have anything else you need me to do?]
The hoarse voice of War escaped from the gap of his horned helmet.
"...None. I think the job here is now complete. Uhh... T-thanks."
War's fiery eyes burned brighter all of a sudden, staring intensely at me as he spoke.
[The next time you summon me, make sure it is worth it.]
I could feel the sweat on my back increasing. Damn. I'd make sure there wouldn't be a need to summon you as much as possible. Your presence was already draining my life like crazy, literally.
In an instant, a massive magic circle materialized and swallowed War, transporting him back to his origin.
Well, that took care of it. I was still amazed at myself how I managed to order around a big guy of that caliber.
I stopped and looked at the corpse of the dragon again.
During my time in this dungeon, I had come to know that my inventory couldn't fit an item of that size. Still, it was such a waste to just leave it like this.
With a thought, I unsheathed my level 35 sword and attempted to hack one of the dragon's teeth and other parts for the whole dang 10 minutes. But much to my dismay, it didn't even bulge.
"Damn it "
Sweat dripped down my forehead from the exertion.
I kinda wished War was still here to do the job. Once again, the memory of his parting words sent shivers down my spine.
Nevermind.
With my failed attempt to get even a slice of the dragon's meat, I decided to get moving.
"Alright, time to get the hell out of this place"
Here's the closest reference of what I imagine War would look like:
I actually tried using AI but it did not bring up a good result:')
1https://www.artstation.com/z-n
Noice that looks cool 😎😎❤️❤️😊😊😍😍😍
Thank you!
This looks fun I'll make sure to keep reading once you get more posted.
I'll do better at writing! Tnx!