Just then, the system notification rang out once more.

[World Announcement: Player [Faustus] has unlocked a new version. The game and reality are about to merge. The system will enter update maintenance. Estimated duration: five minutes. All update notes will be sent to every player’s mailbox. Please log out as soon as possible.]

[Countdown begins: 59... 58... 57...]

Without saying another word, Daniel exited the game.

His vision blurred. When he opened his eyes again, he was already awake inside the game cabin.

Daniel climbed out of the cabin.

Then he discovered that the spatial ring on his hand had actually followed him back into reality.

He could also vaguely sense that there was a hidden pocket of space he could open at any moment, almost like a portable storage dimension.

That should be the backpack from the game.

The game interface was still floating in his field of vision, only now it had become semi-transparent.

Class, pets, equipment, skills, faction...

Everything that should have been there was still there. He could open whichever panel he wanted.

Overall, it was no different from how things had been in the game.

He wanted to test whether his combat power had fully merged over as well.

Daniel stretched out his hand and silently chanted in his heart.

"Arrow of Judgment!"

Buzz—!

The air trembled slightly.

A mass of holy light appeared out of thin air in his palm, so bright it was almost blinding.

Daniel sensed it carefully. The intensity of this power was roughly ninety percent of what it had been in the game!

Most likely, once the version update ended, he would be able to fully master this power!

At the same time, players all over the world logged out one after another, sensing the differences between themselves now and their in-game selves.

Two new pieces of information appeared in many people’s minds.

The first was an explanation of the changes brought by the fusion.

The second was a portal—the Gate of Reincarnation!

At this moment, the Gate of Reincarnation still displayed the maintenance timer. Only after these five minutes passed would they be able to connect to the system again.

In other words, every player’s strength, items, skills, pets...

Everything had merged over with them!

"This is way too convenient!"

A mage stared blankly at the little flame dancing in his palm, his grin stretching almost to his ears.

"From now on, I don’t even need to spend money on a lighter anymore. I can just rub out a little fireball."

"Watch this."

A man took a deep breath, bent down, and hooked one finger under the chassis of a heavy truck beside him.

With a gentle lift—

The entire truck was flipped up as if it were made of paper.

The man’s face lit up with excitement.

"I only used one finger..."

"What should I do..."

An archer narrowed his eyes, his gaze passing through the window and landing on the blazing sun in the sky. He licked his lips eagerly.

"My greatest wish in life has always been to see whether I can shoot that thing down."

"Hahaha... you brat, you’re seriously getting way too full of yourself!"

"Exactly. Even Lord Faustus might not be able to do something like that, and yet you actually dare to imagine it?"

The five minutes of maintenance passed in the blink of an eye.

[Ding—The Gate of Reincarnation has been opened! Players may pass through the Gate of Reincarnation and travel to their bound resurrection-point cities. Please note: Earth may now establish Starfield Portals to allow faster travel to various planes.]

[World Announcement: The current Earth Origin is condensing into form. Once the Origin has fully condensed, the coordinates of this star region will be made public to all worlds. Players—please defend your homeland.]

"Origin? What’s that?"

A player frowned, then suddenly looked up.

"Huh... why do I feel an incredibly powerful aura awakening in the north?"

"Earth Origin? Just from the name, it sounds like some priceless treasure."

Many players sensed that fluctuation as well, and their eyes began to shine.

"Where is it? Is that aura in the north?"

"What a terrifying pressure... It feels like it’s coming from the north. Is that the Origin?"

"Let’s go take a look!"

More and more players rushed in the direction of the aura.

Quite a few of them were legendary-grade players. They rode the wind through the air, as fast as shooting stars.

Others relied on magical equipment and likewise possessed the ability to fly, whistling across the sky.

All they could see was the radiance of the Origin. None of them could see the blood and fire hidden behind that light.

Once the coordinates were made public, what kind of disaster would they attract?

No one had even thought about it.

Perhaps this was simply the nature branded into players’ very bones: they would always see the benefits first, and never the blade.

...

Daniel had also sensed that the Origin was awakening.

His class-change mission was to take control of the Origin and repel all forces and powerful beings coveting Earth.

"Earth Origin... is mine!"

His figure abruptly vanished.

When he reappeared, he was already above a distant stretch of sea.

...

"The aura of the Origin... Let’s go take a look too." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"If someone can control the Origin, does that mean they’ll become the Lord of Earth?"

"Guild Leader Faustus will definitely go, right? Who could possibly snatch that thing from him?"

The system notification had spread the news of Earth Origin’s birth to every corner of the world.

The players all had different thoughts, but without exception, they began gathering toward the direction where that aura was surging.

"This should be the place."

Daniel looked down from above.

On the surface of the sea, a massive vortex was slowly rotating, like a sleeping eye gradually opening.

Deep within the vortex, a dazzling seven-colored light shimmered faintly.

"That’s right... that’s the Origin."

Boom—!

Without hesitation, he plunged into the vortex and sank into the deep sea.

At the same time, Immortal Singularity unfolded around him, forming a dry domain that kept the crushing seawater completely at bay.

He dove rapidly downward, drawing closer and closer to that cluster of radiance.

Only when he got near did he finally see it clearly—

The Origin was only the size of a fist. It was round, like a star that had been left behind on the seafloor.

Light flowed within it, as though endless life was being nurtured inside.

He took a deep breath and reached out his hand.

The instant his fingertip touched the Origin—

Boom!

A thunderous roar exploded in Daniel’s mind. The images before his eyes shattered violently, then quickly reassembled.

...

When he could see the world clearly again, it was as if he was no longer "himself."

He stood above the nine heavens, looking down upon the entire planet.

He was not seeing with his eyes.

It was more like...

The world itself had opened its eyes.

Mountains, rivers, forests, deserts—every inch of land appeared within his perception.

The flight paths of birds crossing the sky, the arcs of fish schools weaving through ocean currents, even the blooming of a wildflower somewhere on the earth and the bead of dew resting on a blade of grass—

He could see all of it with perfect clarity.

He saw countless players from Doom Guild rushing toward this place.

He saw the excited and confused players in the cities.

He saw ordinary people who still had no idea that the world was about to undergo a heaven-shaking transformation.

He even saw beyond Earth.

He saw the space station silently suspended in near-Earth orbit, mining vehicles slowly crawling across the surface of the Moon, a lonely rover traversing the barren plains of Mars, and the infinitely distant starry sky beyond.

Daniel felt something strange.

He had become the ruler of this planet.

His will was the will of this world.

"Move."

He silently commanded in his heart, sensing a towering mountain range in the distance and imagining it shifting one inch to the left.

Rumble, rumble—!

That mountain range let out a deep, muffled roar. The earth trembled, and the entire mountain was forcibly shifted by a centimeter.

"Rise."

With a turn of his thoughts, the vast sea suddenly churned violently, rolling up waves hundreds of meters high.

Sharks, jellyfish, octopuses, and giant whales were thrown into the air by the towering waves. Beneath the sunlight, they traced bright silver arcs through the sky before crashing thunderously back into the water.

"So this is what it feels like to become a Lord of Worlds..."

Daniel understood.