Chapter 37: The Empress of the Night
Celica’s eyes hovered over the weapon description as she stretched, a slight yawn escaping her lips. She’d had an intense first day, consisting of clearing the main quest, doing a sub-quest for a blacksmith at Blade Village and saving Milia's friends by defeating the Cyclops.
Then she’d given Ingrid a tour of Marshia, taught her some game mechanics and carried her through the main quest. Not only tha...
2025-11-27 05:50:55 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 36: One-Shot?
[Since you have defeated the Seventh Boss, the Eighth Boss has spawned.]
Celica looked at her new and improved weapon, glee evident from her glowing expression. And this is only the start! She thought to herself as she looked at how much time she had remaining.
[Time Remaining: 16 minutes 41 seconds]
With sixteen minutes remaining I’ll ...
2025-11-27 05:49:11 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 35: The Grave Digger
Celica looked around the quickly changing arena. The fields of grass and countless trees were being deleted in real time in front of her, leaving only the cold embrace or dimly lit arena she’d seen too many times already.
“What’s it going to be this time?” she said vacantly. “Going from the trend, it’s probably gonna be...” she paused. The arena around her began to change but not in the way she expected....
2025-11-27 05:47:34 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 34: Ocean's Embrace
+5 Ocean's Embrace [Unique]
Weapon exclusively for: Celica Travine Crystalis
Required Level: 45
Stats Given:
Combat: +126,000
Defensive: +7200
Physical Attack: +5400 (5000~5800)
HP: +1100
Fixed Effect: Equip to ...
2025-11-27 05:45:58 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 33: Terra Worm
Celica paused, her mind wandering as she vacantly looked around the dimly lit arena. Since the last changes were fire-based, the next changes will probably be...
Her eyes lit up, drawn by the subtle shifting atmosphere. The bleak torches around the arena lost their fires. In the background she could hear a faint noise.
A rustling noise.
Just then, the ground rumbled and a wave of green flooded the arena. Now the entire...
2025-11-21 05:08:53 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 32: Molten Arena
Celica watched the arena transform quietly, her boots making a soft click on the stone floor. She squinted, taking in the eerie stillness around her. She could sense the tension in the air, the faint hum of magic building as the system prepared the stage for the battle ahead.
The atmosphere shifted almost instantly.
A rumble vibrated the ground beneath her, followed by a low growl that seemed to echo from the very walls. The arena ...
2025-10-31 10:54:14 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 31: Secret Stage?
Of course you have a second phase. It wouldn't be fun if you didn't!
The Leviathan’s attacks were quicker now, its water currents pushing Celica back as it tried to pin her against the wall. Each time Celica closed the distance, the Leviathan would create a massive surge of water, forcing her to retreat.
But Celica wasn’t about to let up. Her Parry allowed her to counter the wave attacks as long as she timed i...
2025-10-29 20:56:50 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 30: The Ancient Waterway (2)
Celica’s boots splashed into the shallow waters as she stepped through the second door, a sprawling expanse greeting her. The atmosphere was thick with humidity, and the air was heavy with the scent of damp earth.
The entire area seemed to pulse with a strange, watery energy. Celica didn't mind it, her eyes focused on something else entirely.
[Aqua Wraith - Lv. 42]
[Tidal Rift-born Crab - Lv. 43]
[River G...
2025-10-29 19:00:59 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 29: The Ancient Waterway (1)
Celica looked around. From the looks of it, she was in a temple adorned with illustrious decorations. The walls were a pale blue and the floor had a clean azure texture. Random inscriptions ran along the walls occasionally, likely some sort of message from the people of the past who designed the waterway.
She looked down at the notifications, scratching her head as she did.
[You have entered: The Ancient Water...
2025-10-24 16:00:13 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 28: Snapped Sword vs The Rift Toad (2)
As the Toad attacked again, she parried the tongue at the last possible moment, her blade scraping against the slick surface of the Toad's tongue. She immediately countered, driving her sword deep into the Toad’s belly as it recoiled.
The Toad let out a guttural croak of pain, but before she could take advantage of the opening, it jumped backwards and launched itself into the air. The shockwave from its lan...
2025-10-23 15:27:01 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 27: Snapped Sword vs The Rift Toad (1)
The ground trembled beneath her feet as the Rift Toad launched itself into the air with a guttural croak. Its bloated body soared toward her like a missile.
In a nick of time, she darted sideways and the massive toad landed with a thunderous crash just where she had stood moments before. The shockwave from the impact sent the nearest rift-born creatures tumbling backward.
The Toad rebounded immediately, bouncin...
2025-10-23 14:58:41 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 26: The Mist Military Outpost (3)
— "No way, did he just succeed in ragebaiting the enemy commander? Just like that?"
— "This guy has balls of steel. We have to go for a beer sometime."
— "Does this guy have any regard for his life?"
The soldiers shouted amongst themselves, excited to see the spectacle play out. Although they were in the middle of an extremely intense war, the arrival of this strange swordsman with a broken sword had tur...
2025-10-21 17:39:43 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 25: The Mist Military Outpost (2)
[You have accepted the quest: Defenders of the Mist.]
[You will only have one chance to complete this quest. Failure will not only result in an inability to play this quest again, but it may also lead to devastating consequences for other players on this floor.]
Celica eyed the system notifications carefully. Devastating consequences, huh? A part of her wanted to see just what those devastating cons...
2025-10-21 14:54:51 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 24: The Mist Military Outpost (1)
As Celica departed from Marshia, she turned her attention to the place which had been on her mind since she first discovered it. She'd decided to make that her immediate priority, disregarding anything else she could be doing like forging or coin grinding.
She didn't have any great materials to forge with currently anyways, and coin grinding, while useful in the long run, was really only something she needed to do once ev...
2025-10-21 12:35:16 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 23: Let's teach Ingrid (2)
"Couldn't they make these designs a bit more... friendly?" Ingrid said as she looked at the blue colossal approaching them.
"I guess they could," came Celica's reply but inwardly she was thinking, they will in the next realm.
"Are you confident you can clear it without any help?" Celica said, slightly concerned.
"Of course," Ingrid said as she raised her sword in response. "Not."
A dry laugh came fro...
2025-10-20 11:27:13 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 22: Let's Teach Ingrid! (1)
Celica took a deep breath in as she eyed the familiar marshlands. With Ingrid next to her, she felt much more energetic than usual. She smiled before she spoke. "Right, let's start with the basics."
"Sure." Ingrid nodded, her body tense as she looked around.
"Just relax, we'll be fine." Celica said as she waved her hand. Unconsciously, her eyes drifted towards the top of her user interface.
[Ingrid - Level 1...
2025-10-19 13:40:31 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 21: Let's Explore Marshia!
Celica and Ingrid stood in the centre of Marshia, the second floor's bustling central city. It was still early in the day, and the faint glow of sunlight barely filtered through the thick mist. Celica had been here enough times to feel at home, but for Ingrid, the strange blend of muted colors and the ethereal atmosphere felt overwhelming.
"Alright," Celica said, her voice light with excitement. "First things first. You need to k...
2025-10-18 09:53:44 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 20: Let's Meetup!
The trio—Kellen, Rhys, and Talia—looked on in silence, staring at the mysterious player who had single-handedly brought down the freakish mutant. Snapped Sword stood over the fallen Cyclops, casually holding a broken blade in his hands.
Kellen, still wide-eyed from the battle, took an instinctive step backward, his voice shaky. "What the hell just happened...?"
Talia stood frozen, clearly impressed, though her brows kn...
2025-10-17 19:11:06 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 19: Glorious Rewards
Celica’s fingers hovered over the character creation screen. She needed to act fast. Kellen, Talia, and Rhys were in danger, and she couldn’t afford to waste any time.
With practiced ease, Celica set about designing her disguise. She chose to become a good-looking male character with jet-black hair. Something simple, yet effective. The face was sharp, the jawline strong, and the eyes held a strange innocence to them.
The cost...
2025-10-13 04:41:16 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 18: Snapped Sword's Debut
The dense fog of the marshlands was unlike anything Kellen, Rhys, or Talia had experienced before. The ground beneath their feet was uneven, and the air felt thick, and damp.
As the trio stood on the edge of Marshia, a vast expanse of marshes stretched out before them. It was an eerie, haunting landscape filled with the distant sound of croaking frogs and the occasional rustle of something in the fog.
“Well... th...
2025-10-09 05:54:27 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 17: Blade Village
Celica’s gaze lingered on the strange icon on her map. There shouldn’t be any outposts here... not on this floor. That area was supposed to be a scattered ruins. She tapped the map to zoom in on the location, but the details remained scarce. No quest markers or NPC indicators, just that odd icon.
She considered her options for a moment, then ultimately dismissed the idea of going there right now. As much as her curiosity tugg...
2025-10-09 02:16:56 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 16: The Cyclops Marsh (2)
— "Wait, true death? What do you mean, we can’t respawn?"
— "So, it’s just permanent death if we die? You’re not messing with us, right?"
— "Guys, how do we kill that thing?!"
The players in Marshia's central area looked around nervously as if they couldn't believe their ears. Celica didn't react. The second floor's wandering boss was something she had dealt with on several occasions. She wasn't worried about exp...
2025-10-08 06:12:48 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 15: The Cyclops' Marsh (1)
Celica blinked as she arrived on the second floor, the familiar city of Marshia welcoming her back. The air felt thicker here, and the colour of the sky seemed unnaturally dim even compared to Earth’s grey skies. A thick fog swirled around her feet, the rocky ground cradling her boots.
The time difference hit her—Earth was still in the dead of night, but here, it was early morning. She decided to quickly open up her status pa...
2025-10-07 22:23:29 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 14: Welcome Back Players
The silence pressed down on them, until Ingrid finally spoke, her voice soft but firm. “...We don’t know how much time we’ll have left together, do we?” Her eyes flicked between Celica and Milia, calm on the surface but shadowed with unease. “We should make the most of the time we have.”
Celica paused, the reality of their situation sinking deeper with each word. The full moon was coming, and with it, their return to th...
2025-10-07 03:40:53 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 13: Hey Celica... What's a Noob?
The house was quiet. Celica eyed the drawn curtains and carefully observed the serene front yard.
“She’s probably out or something,” she murmured, turning toward Milia. “We should... come back later.” Milia didn’t answer. Her gaze was fixated on the front door.
Then came the faint creak of hinges as a gate shifted open.
“Ingrid!” Milia cried. She bolted forward, nearly stumbling over her...
2025-10-01 11:58:21 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 12: A Tale of Two Gamer Girls
She froze.
Standing in the dim light of the hallway, was Celica's younger sister Milia. Her small frame seemed even smaller in the doorway. Her shoulders were hunched, eyes red-rimmed with tears streaking down her pale cheeks.
Her hand clutched something tightly. A necklace. The one Celica had given her for her twelfth birthday. For a moment, neither of them moved. The silence between them stretched, thick. Milia’s bot...
2025-09-28 01:14:24 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 11: The Opportunity of a Lifetime
Celica sat frozen in front of her screen, eyes locked onto the flashing headlines. The words leaped out at her like a jumpscare: The Arrival of the ‘Players’. Could this be a new era?
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, the bright glare of the article blurring her vision. Everywhere she turned, she saw the same unsettling phrases. “Players”, “game mechanics”, and “The Ten Realms” were stam...
2025-09-25 19:03:39 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 35: The heart of the Karavik Empire
He leads by his cold claws’ swing,
Tales of his battles the deserts sing,
Victory, spices, and gold are promised,
For all who kneel under his wing.
—The Sharim, from the Karavik collection, One Thousand and One Days.
***
Sunlight blazed down onto the sandstone walls, which were carved with ...
2025-09-22 17:02:24 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 10: Turning Point One
“Cheers!”
The bar was alive with the clamour of victory. Cups clanged against each other as the smell of roasted meat and sweet pastries hung in the air. Players of all shapes and sizes crowded every corner, exchanging stories of near-death experiences and close calls.
Most had just finished the Slime Plains main quest, and the entire beginner town felt like it was teetering on a sugar-high celebration.
2025-09-21 18:19:24 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 9: Noob Party Antics
The plains outside the town were littered with the gelatinous corpses of slimes, which shimmered in the morning light like puddles of melted candles. Celica walked alongside her new… acquaintances? Party? She wasn't sure yet.
Kellen stretched with a groan, sword balanced across his shoulders. "Seventy down, thirty to go. With you along, we'll definitely clear it today. How much do you have left?"
Celica gav...
2025-09-21 13:52:06 +0000 UTC
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