The air on the outskirts of a volcanic region in Elysium, far from the trade routes of the nearby major cities, was heavy and thick with the acrid, burnt-meat smell.
Amid the sharp, black rocks that looked like a giant's teeth, two players moved with extraordinary coordination, as if they had years of practice doing things like that together.
Dan was breathing with difficulty; each gasp from his chest sounded hoarse and dry, as if the lungs in his body were about to burst at any moment.
In the real world on the planet Babel-9, Dan had been only 18 years old, with an athletic, handsome, and confident physique, but his integration into the Epic Race of a Wizard in Elysium had taken a cruel toll on his appearance.
His body in this world was extremely thin; his skin was pale and blotchy, stretched tight over protruding bones, and his head, almost completely bald, bore only sparse tufts of greasy hair.
