.
The darkness slowly crawled over my eyes, swallowing the light until a cold, blue glow flickered to life. A voice echoed in the void: "Welcome to the Prince of Danger Heart."
A blue screen formed in front of me. "Welcome back. My name is Alpha Zero. I am the system assistant here to guide your new beginning. Are you a new or returning player?"
"Old player," I muttered.
"Welcome back to this world. Please enter your ID and Password."
I reached out to touch the screen. It felt like real glass—cold and solid. The moment I entered my details, a surge of energy raced through my body. It stung, making my heart race, but then the darkness shattered. I was standing under an open sky.
[Welcome Back, Master]
[Name: The Dead Prince]
[Status: Live Player]
[Current Rank: 6 (Rapidly Dropping)]
"Rank 6? And dropping?" I frowned. "Is your system glitching? How am I falling that fast?"
"No, Master. Many top-tier players became active this past month while you were away."
"Whatever," I sighed. The screen asked if I wanted to continue my story or challenge a player. I entered Roy's ID, but a red error message popped up: [Error: This player has been offline for a month.]
I looked up at the sky and yelled, "If anyone can hear me, tell Roy to stop hiding and show me what's going on!"
Suddenly, red lights started flashing everywhere. "You have a new mail," the system announced.
I opened it. There were over 500 challenges waiting for me, but one was highlighted in gold. It was a message from a burner account: "Rio, I can't use my main ID for this. Accept this challenge now. —Roy."
I checked the profile. [Prime Level: 16].
"Is he insane?" I muttered. That's a special ID—it costs a fortune to buy and only lasts for 24 hours. He was clearly going all-out to corner me. My system started vibrating like crazy—ting ting ting—500 more mails flooded in the second I went online. I ignored them all and hit [Accept] on Roy's challenge.
The world went black again. A heavy stone door creaked open, and as I stepped through, a blast of hot, volcanic air hit my face. A booming voice echoed from the clouds: "Before the fight begins, choose your character. Rules: Three boundary strikes and you are disqualified."
"Ayame Bell. Speciality: Water," I commanded.
Instantly, rain began to pour from the sky. The water drenched my body, then suddenly stopped mid-air, swirling around me like a massive cyclone. It felt freezing as the water merged with my skin, transforming me. I opened my eyes. I was standing on cracked earth, surrounded by steaming craters.
In the reflection of a puddle at my feet, I saw her—blue hair, blue eyes—the female character Ayame Bell, wearing a faint, mysterious smile.
[3... 2... 1... LET'S BEGIN!]
"Rio!" Roy's voice boomed from across the map. "Like I said, I'm playing serious this time. No professional courtesy. I'm using every special skill I have. Everyone is watching... today, I'll prove you only win because of luck!"
I looked around. White, red, and green smoke was rising from the craters. The air felt heavy. This map was notorious—rated 0.5/10 by players because it was a nightmare. One wrong step in this "Lava Kingdom" and a winning match becomes a total loss. The ground patterns shift, trees grow out of nowhere... walking here is a battle in itself.
Roy didn't wait. He launched the first attack. A massive wall of ice came screaming toward me. I took a deep breath, and just as it reached me, I unleashed a full-power slash. The water blade sliced through the ice, but my character was locked in a 3-second cooldown.
Suddenly, the sky turned blood-red. Stone walls erupted from the ground, trapping me, while massive fireballs began raining down from above.
"Zero! Can you hear me?" I yelled.
"Yes, Boss."
"Let me use my special items!"
"Warning: All special items are blocked. You are restricted to basic attacks. Magic barrier detected. Survival chance: 0%."
"Fine. I only need one move. Release all Mana!"
I sprinted toward the closing walls. The ground felt like liquid under my feet—I was running on water. I headed straight for the craters, hoping the explosions would give me an opening. I slammed into one just as the fireballs hit.
Green light erupted from the crater, surging into my body. Every nerve in my body screamed in pain as the green poison seeped in. The stone walls closed in, and a thousand fireballs crashed down on my position. My vision started to fade.
A few minutes later, the burning heat turned into a soothing chill. I opened my eyes. I was buried under rubble.
"I know you're not dead yet, Rio!" Roy's voice shouted. "Come out and tell me how the hell you're still alive!"
I smiled under the debris. "I don't even know myself." My skills finally came off cooldown. "Water Blast Attack!"
Spheres of water spun around me, merging into a massive, formless orb that blasted the rubble away. The sky above was now a chaotic mess. Roy stood in the distance, looking completely shocked.
"Boss, the Flower of the Dead trapped you," the system whispered. "It drained 40% of your HP. You have 120/200 HP remaining."
I knew that flower. Players hate it—it usually kills anyone it touches. But it saved me. Its poison creates a 4-second barrier that's indestructible while it feeds. Since I had over 200 HP, I survived the drain while the barrier blocked Roy's fireballs.
"How did you know that flower was there?!" Roy yelled. "I customized this map myself, and even I didn't know it was there!"
"Calm down, Roy," I said. "I was just trying to dodge. I thought I'd go into a defensive stance, but I 'coincidentally' hit the flower. Total accident."
"Coincidence?! Again?!" Roy roared. "There's nothing natural about your coincidences! Let's see how your luck handles this!"
Roy raised his hand. "Reality Shift!"
The sky flashed, and the broken ground transformed into a smooth, paved road. I charged toward him, but the world flickered again. Everything went silent. The sky turned red again, and thousands of swords appeared above Roy, all pointed at my chest. The heat was blistering.
"Roy, this is too much," I said. "Give me a chance to attack. And besides, even with your customization, you can't break the game's fundamental reality."
"Oh yeah? Watch me," Roy sneered.
I thrust my hand forward. The water droplets in the air condensed into a blade. I slammed it into the ground. A wave of water rippled out, washing away the illusion. The paved road vanished, revealing the original trapped ground underneath.
"You just put a layer over it to scare me," I said. "You wanted me to run right into the traps you hid along the path."
"Shut up and just die already!" Roy yelled, his face twisted in rage. "I'm serious now!"
"You can't even reach me," I mocked.
Roy screamed and summoned a rain of fire from the red sky. I slammed my palms onto the ground. "Ultimate Skill: Water Tornado!"
The earth groaned as a massive pillar of water erupted, reaching for the clouds. "Dump all the Mana into it!" I yelled.
The fireballs hissed as they hit my water shield, the steam clouding everything. I was inside the eye of the storm, blind to the outside world. Suddenly, I heard a faint sound.
A sword tip pierced through the swirling water, heading straight for my heart. I twisted my body at the last second, the blade grazing my side as I prepared to counter.