King stood alone in his private quarters, the door sealed shut behind him. The estate had fallen into a tense, anticipatory quiet, the kind that settled over soldiers before a battle.

He opened his interface and navigated to his character stats.

CHARACTER DETAILS

NAME: King

RACE: Human

AFFILIATION: Kingsmen

ALIGNMENT: Null

SKILL:

-God’s Hand: 100x Reward (SSS)

-Ultimate War-Chief

CLASS:

-Mage

-Combatant

RANK:

-D

-F++

LEVEL: 23

ITEMS:

-Grand Magus Oathcloak (equipped)

-Basic Construct Spelbook

-Arcbearer’s Hello

-Gauntlet Of Ruin [Legendary-Grade]

-Arcbearer’s Medallion [100]

-Basic Health Potions [3]

-Basic Mana Potions [5]

-Antidote Vial [3])]

-[Red Imp Talisman (Rare) equipped]nd]

-[Intermediate Mana Potion x2]

-[Magic Staff (Rare) - +5 Mind, +3 MP Regeneration]

-[Greater Mana Potion x2]

-Ephelias Elemental Magic Scroll (Epic)

ABILITIES:

-Basic Construct Spell (C)

-Ruin’s Touch (S)

-Scorching Burst (C)

-Freezing Cascade (C)

-Earthen Spire (C)

-Cyclone Spiral (C)

-Ember Spark (E)

-Gust Punch (E)

_____________________

STATS

Strength: 62

Speed: 62 (+5)

Mind: 73 (+10)

Constitution: 63

____________________

HP: 630

MP: 730 (+100)

Runes: 117,800

GoD Runes: 2000

POWER POINTS: 4,300

POPULAR POINTS: 4,900 (-1000)

FANDOM LIST: 36,001

King had been holding off on this. Deliberately.

The ranking update had come through moments ago, broadcasting his points to the entire world. Power Ranking still had him at first place, but he knew better than to reveal the full extent of his resources before entering the Second Woe. Every guild, every faction, every player with ambition would be analyzing the rankings, calculating threat levels, and deciding who to hunt first.

It was better if they didn’t know his exact power point.

King tapped through the level-up interface, converting his accumulated runes into raw progression. The system processed the request instantly, deducting the cost and flooding his body with that familiar surge of energy.

[LEVEL UP!]

[LEVEL UP!]

[LEVEL UP!]

[LEVEL UP!]

Four levels. He burned through his runes, pushing himself from Level 23 to Level 27. His stat pool expanded, granting him forty additional stat points to distribute.

King allocated them methodically.

Placing non to Strength, he felt his strength was good enough and since he neither fought bare knuckled, now had a heavy weight tool, he had to prioritize other stats for now.

He placed 10 to Speed. 20 to Mind. 10 to Constitution.

His stats updated in real time.

[STRENGTH: 62]

[SPEED: 72 (+5)]

[MIND: 93 (+10)]

[CONSTITUTION: 73]

[HP: 730]

[MP: 930 (+100)]

King closed the interface and exhaled slowly.

Then checked the timer hovering in the corner of his vision.

[TIME UNTIL SECOND WOE: 00:58:42]

They had less than an hour left.

King left his room and walked down the corridor toward the common area. His boots echoed against the polished floor. When he pushed through the doorway, he found them waiting.

They were all present, including Maya.

The child wasn’t playing this time around.

She was observing.

King noticed it immediately. Maya’s posture, the way her eyes tracked each of them at the slightest tilt. She understood. Somehow, this seven-year-old mute child comprehended exactly what was about to happen.

King crossed the room and sat down across from Vi. Eli turned from the window and joined them, lowering himself into a chair with a quiet grunt.

For a long moment, no one spoke.

Then King broke the silence.

"Hope we’re all ready."

Vi nodded with a steeled expression.

"Remember, If we get separated," King continued, "priority one is survival, from the moment we appear we must establish communications, if we are separated."

"And if we aren’t, then we move as a unit," King continued. "We secure a defensible position, somewhere not crowded with faction players, and from there, we can start accumulating points immediately. The fourteen-day stagnation clause starts the moment we land, so we can’t afford to sit still for long."

Vi glanced at Maya, then back at King. "What about her?"

King followed her gaze. The little girl sat motionless, her large eyes locked on him.

"She stays with whoever she spawns with," King said. "If she’s with me, I’ll protect her. If she’s with you, you do the same."

Eli leaned forward, resting his elbows on both knees. "And what if she’s alone?"

King tilted his head downward. "Whoever spawns in her region tries to find her immediately. But I pray that doesn’t happen"

They all proceeded to lock in on their alignments, and then share their live locations with each other, Eli showing Maya through her interface.

King checked the timer again.

The minutes ticked down in silence. Fifteen minutes. Ten. Five.

King stood, and the others followed. Eli walked over to Maya and lifted her gently, settling her against his hip. The child didn’t resist. She wrapped her small arms around his neck and rested her chin on his shoulder.

Vi moved beside King, her breath was steady, but her hands trembled slightly.

King glanced at the timer.

[TIME UNTIL SECOND WOE: 00:01:00]

One minute.

"Form a circle," King said.

They moved without hesitation. Eli held Maya with one arm and extended his free hand to Vi. Vi took it, then reached for King. King placed his hand on Eli’s shoulder and gripped Vi’s hand tightly, completing the chain.

They stood locked together, a closed circle, hoping the system would recognize their formation and keep them together during the teleportation.

[TIME UNTIL SECOND WOE: 00:00:20]

The countdown appeared in their shared vision, flashing red.

[19]

[18]

[17]

King’s grip tightened.

[10]

[9]

[8]

The room began to shimmer, the edges of reality blurring.

[5]

[4]

[3]

The light around them intensified, swallowing the estate in a blinding white glow.

[2]

[1]

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

[TELEPORTATION INITIATED]

Their world was engulfed in a blinding white light that lasted five seconds, numbing all their senses.

And as the light dimmed, King’s senses returning, and the world snapped back into focus.

He stood at the edges of two distinctively separate land natures. To his left, a calming, sun-drenched meadow unfolded. Lush greenery stretched to the distance. Golden rays of sunlight filtered through the tall beautiful trees, casting shadows on the grassland. Birdsong echoed faintly in the distance, but there was no sign of civilization.

And to his right, a desolate wasteland of blackened earth and at the horizon, towering crags emerged side by side, creating the view of a fortress. A stack contrast to the meadows.

It was clear, he stood at the boundary of two separate territories.

King looked down.

Maya was beside him.

The little girl clung to him silently, her face pressed against his thigh, perfectly unharmed.

King scanned the area. There was no sign of Vi or Eli.

He opened his interface immediately, navigating to the friend list and selecting Vi’s name.

Then he texted.

[King: Status. Where are you?]

The response came instantly.

[Vi: I’m okay. I spawned with Eli.]

King exhaled slowly, relief washing over him.

[King: Thank goodness. What zone?]

There was a momentary pause, as if she was trying to confirm what zone they were. Then she responded.

[Vi: Zone 1.]

King then swiped to check his map interface.

The display expanded before him, showing a large circular diagram divided into five equal sections, like a pie chart. Each section was tinted with a specific hue. A just in between a red and golden section, a glowing marker indicated his current position. He was in-between two territories.

[ZONE 3]

King stared at the label.

Zone 3.

Vi and Eli were in Zone 1.

Completely different zones.

He checked the map again, studying the layout. The zones were surrounded by massive barrier boundaries, just as Zorus had described.

King closed the map and looked down at Maya. The child stared back at him, her expression was calm and trusting.

He opened the message interface again.

[King: I’m in Zone 3, with Maya.]

[Vi: So it’s like we got swapped or something.]

[King: Yeah.]

King glanced at the meadows to left, and the scorched earth to the right. The territories stretched for miles on both sides, ecosystems filled with players, NPCs, and god knows what else.

He crouched, carrying Maya on his back.