Prolouge
In a misty battlefield vague shadows can be seen moving with quiet footsteps. One of the figures speaks up breaking the silence, "Quiet Mist are we really going after that punk, you know the rumors that have been surrounding that person, right?", the one moving behind of the group of four asks in a hushed voice.
The leading figure of the group turns around and replies in annoyed tone, "I know about the rumors okay but, he stole that wild boss from us. You know how much I wanted the weapon that drops from the 'The Wild Orc Warrior'. I was finally going to get my first orange tier level 100 weapon but that bastard kill-stole at the last moment and ran away with the weapon shouting some crap about how he needed it for upgrading his damn weapon." Quiet Mist ranted in anger when recalling the past event.
He continues speaking but this one seems to be addressing the group as a whole while answering the previous question, "Bruised Fist we're here because I heard his grinding for materials around this area. So we are going to get our revenge and hopefully some useful equipment will drop. I don't care even if his some powerful expert." Fist just nods in acceptance in reply to the party leader. The group then kept on walking on for a while, intent on hunting down the aforementioned offender.
They then, walk into a forest clearing were the see a spear wielding player decimating a mob of monsters in rapid speed. The group of players were amazed by the precise movements of the player in front of them. They watched as the spear wielder clear out the mob in no time at all, the player finally killing the last monster then took a moment to glance around quickly noticing the players around him, but then turned and started collecting the loot that the monsters had dropped, seemingly not regarding the obviously hostile group as a threat.
This behavior further enraged the group, sealing any doubt that the other party members had about their leader's decision. As the player finished collecting and was about to leave Quiet Mist shouted out angrily, "Winter Tide you don't plan on leaving without greeting us right, especially after we came all the way here looking for you?" The now identified Winter Tide turned around in reply to the question, asked in a confused tone "Do I know you?" This further annoyed the party as they started getting closer to him in a threatening manner.
When they got in a five meters distance from him, they raised their weapons and started to get ready to use their skills to attack. Winter Tide seeing this raised his hands in surrender and spoke in a placating tone, seemingly wanting to avoid a confrontation asking. "C'mon fellows I am sure we can resolve this in a more peaceful manner, I remember you guys now. Thanks a lot for helping me back then. I was able to successfully upgrade my weapon, here take this weapon in return." said Winter Tide offering a bone white greatsword with crimson runes dancing around the whole blade in random patterns and also seemed to be a excluding a strange aura from the blade itself on the area around it.
The appearance of the greatsword drew a gasp from the whole group. Quiet Mist in particular couldn't hide his greed for the blade as his breath became heavy through the microphone. Seeing this Winter Tide then said in a relieved tone, "Well gentlemen it seems we have come to have to an agreement." He then placed the greatsword on the ground turned around to leave. But then, Quiet Mist shouted out telling him to stop, hearing the sudden outburst his party members then looked worriedly at their leader.
The player beside Quiet Mist spoke up, "C'mon boss we already got the 'Undead King's Sword' there is no reason to start a needless fight." urging his leader in an anxious tone. "Dammit Fleeting Soul don't you see that his just one player our party has four. And so, what if he is an expert, we're not some noobs either. Besides this is more than some stolen loot. We have a reputation to maintain, or otherwise people might think that they can also steal from us and get away with it. Besides, it's obvious that he has more than one high tier weapon and equipment, so you guys will get your share of this too will also." said Quiet Mist in a convincing voice and it seemed to work as the rest of the party seemed more motivated.
It was obvious that the previous greatsword was a great temptation, and even if it wasn't suitable for their classes, they could always exchange it for a weapon or equipment more suitable for them. After the leader confirmed that all of them were on the same page, the group started to advance closer to Winter Tide their greed obvious as a midday sun. Winter Tide just sighed in disappointment but, didn't seem to be all that surprised in the current turn of event as he got into a battle stance ready to face the group. He then tried once more to convince them, "Do you guys really want to battle?" Releasing an oppressive aura as he prepared to charge at them, the group started hesitating and even unconsciously moving their characters a step back, when they realize what had happened it made them even more enraged Quiet Mist then spoke up in an annoyed voice "So what if we do, we're a group of four consisting of a cleric, an elementalist, a brawler and me a berserker what do you think a lone battle mage like you can do against a matchup like this." As he finished speaking in an arrogant manner Winter Tide didn't reply, instead he charged forward in astonishing speed and while the party of players were slightly surprised, they quickly regained their bearings when they realized that the buff he got when fighting the mob monsters was still in effect.
Quiet Mist quickly told the group to get into formation, "Everybody get ready, Wretched prepare to cast instant heals and buffs overtime, Fleeting Soul start casting 'Lightning Cage' when he gets in range. Me and Fist will keep him busy." as he quickly gave out orders, Winter Tide got in close enough that Quiet Mist who had moved to intercept him got into his spear's attack range. He immediately used one of his class skills 'Double Stab' quickly piercing his spear at the berserker's abdomen, Quiet Mist quickly used his sword to block it and slashed his it twice in forming a cross, as a counterattack. Seeing his attack blocked, Winter Tide used his spear to deflect the two slashes to the side but as he moved his body sideways, his eyes caught a brick sailing through the air, aimed at his head.
Seeing this he ducks before the attack could land on him, which if it had landed would have likely caused him to be in a stunned state. As he moved his head low, he notices that Fist had joined the fight, and the brawler was prepared to launch a two-pronged attack. Seeing his teammate in position Quiet Mist was not staying still, quickly activating his class skill 'Enrage' as he felt that ending this battle quickly would be wiser and even though they held the advantage in a drawn out battle it was better not to take risks especially after he felt the threat coming from the spear wielding battle mage. After the glow sign effect of the skill subsided the berserker then jumped high in the air and then swung his sword downward immediately releasing an energy shockwave aiming the attack at Winter Tide.
His battle experience showing, the battle mage rolled backwards as he activated a skill and launched it at the brawler that had planned on flanking him. Fist not prepared for the assault, tried to dodge in a hurry but was unsuccessful as the tip of the battle mage's spear caught him and he was then pulled toward Winter Tide who then used the brawler's weight against him and threw him towards the oncoming energy shockwave. The attacking players were stunned to see one of their teammates getting caught in the crossfire. But as the brawler took high damage from the powerful skill, the owner of the attack was horrified before quickly becoming enraged. "Wretched quickly get his HP back up, Soul what the heck is taking you so long to fini-" before Quiet Mist could finish his order, Winter Tide quickly raised his spear charging up an attack, before finally launching his spear forward. As it moved in rapid speed towards the berserker and the brawler, who was still stunned thanks to the previous attack, it transformed to an energy construct of a dragon head opening its translucent blue jaws and chomping down on the players in front of it, dealing high damage to them and further putting them in stunned state.
He then continued launching a series of combo attacks giving the berserker nor the brawler the chance to defend themselves. Their cleric franticly tried to keep their HP from falling into the red, but all hope was not lost as the elementalist finally finished casting his spell but, he couldn't get a clear shot at Winter Tide as the battle mage used his teammates as body shields making the elementalist despair at the situation. Quiet Mist seeing Wretched's problem he gritted his teeth and gave out a command, "Wretched stop healing Bruised Fist, focus on protecting me. Soul, quickly use this gap to trap this bastard then we will toy with him and let him taste his own medicine." as they were speaking through the group chat Winter Tide wasn't aware of their plan. Bruised Fist quickly began to protest against the plan but Quiet Mist quickly shut down his complaint, telling them to hurry up as he saw his and Fist's HP steadily decreasing despite the cleric's effort, Wretched seeing this scene quickly cast the strongest instant defense spell on Quiet Mist, Bruised Fist couldn't do anything but let out a frustrated sigh as he saw his teammate's 'Lightning Cage' quickly heading for the trio and as the one with the lowest HP he would likely die first.
But before he could his accept his loss, Winter Tide used a skill, the short distance teleportation skill, 'Blink'! Before the party of players could properly comprehend what had happened the battle mage reappeared behind the cleric. When the rest of the party came to a sudden realization on what was about to happen, an ugly expression appeared on their face. They were even more distressed by the fact that they couldn't anything to stop it. What they feared happened as the spearman launched consecutive attacks, pushing the cleric into the attack range of the elementalist. And to make matters worse as the cleric was being assaulted, the shield he had conjured for Quiet Mist disappeared making the group feel even more despair. When the spell reached them, it exploded with a ferocious might creating a deafening sound but, this wasn't the end as the spell's aftereffects activated rapidly creating multiple lightning chains that trapped the trio and continuously doing damage.
While this occurred, Winter Tide charged toward the elementalist, now that they were fighting one to one, he quickly defeated Fleeting Soul and as a result of the elementalist death the spell holding the rest of the party members disappeared. But as they were already in a weakened state, they were quickly finished off with a powerful AoE attack. Winter Tide looked around at the destruction caused by the battle. He sighed at this scene and the host of events behind it. He then started picking up the loot dropped by the deceased players thinking that there was no reason to waste any equipment. He then looked for a safe place to rest before logging out, the familiar word 'GLORY' appearing before the pc then turned blank.
As he got up from his chair stretching his back slightly, he hears a voice calling him, "Ye Xiu are you done playing, c'mon its already time for lunch?" The owner of the voice asking the question is then revealed to be a beautiful petite woman with light brown hair that falls down to her waist. Ye Xiu takes a moment to respond before nodding and replying, "Yes we can eat, should we just eat at the cafe from across the street Su Mucheng?" he asked back. Su Mucheng then seemed to agree to the suggestion.
The duo then quickly made their way to the counter of the internet cafe they were in before paying the receptionist. They then went to the cafe from across their side of the street as they entered the cafe it can be seen that the cafe was not particularly big but, it gave off a homely feeling which was especially welcomed in the cold midst of winter. The two then ordered their meals and started talking about what was going in their life although to be more specific it looked more like Ye Xiu was listening than talking. After a while they finished their meal and left the cafe after paying their bill. As they walked through the streets, we could see them talking about past memories and funny recollection of everything that had happened three years back when they were still pro gamers and the things they have been through.
After walking for a while, they neared Su Mucheng's apartment. She then remembered that she had originally wanted to mention something to him, she then quickly turns to him as he looked at her in an inquisitive look she says "Hey, Ye Xiu have you heard about the new event that 'Glory' just released for players at a minimum of level 20 and above to enter the event?" Ye Xiu then shook his head in confusion.
Su Mucheng seemed to have realized she was right, quickly told him that it was an event that was launched recently and was quickly gaining popularity, it probably wouldn't have been long before he had heard of it too. She then explains a shortened version of the event and its name apparently was called 'Hero's Glory'. Ye Xiu became slightly interested by the name of the event and the fact that his closest friend has even recommended it for him to check it out. After promising to give it a go and then saying good night. He made his way to his own abode which appeared to be more modest than that of Su Mucheng's, but Ye Xiu never minded where stayed as long it was comfortable to sleep in and there was an internet cafe nearby or if there was a desktop setup in where he was staying.
He was better off than that of the past as he had both and also quite a quaint household to stay at. Ye Xiu entered his house and locked the door behind him before going to the shower to freshen up, after he finished cleaning up, he fired up the game on his gaming desktop before the familiar word 'Glory' quickly appeared showing his level 100 battle mage character. After he finished checking up on his equipment making sure that there wasn't anything wrong with the recent upgrades he made. He then clicked on the glowing icon that was flashing on the top right side of his character which then expanded to show a list of the various of updates the game developers had released, there was a bunch of events and news that were listed.
He scrolled down for a bit before coming across the one he was looking for, as he clicked on the event the screen turned black for a moment before the words 'Hero's Glory' appeared, they seem to be glowing with a mixture of four distinct colors forming a sort of synergy. Then lines of words appeared on the screen asking if he wanted to start this event and also listing the rules when playing this event after he quickly verified everything was right, he then clicked on the option saying 'launch'. Thats when the screen turned dim, words then started explaining the storyline of the event. Apparently in ancient times there was this mysterious magical land that brimmed with extraordinary phenomena and fantastical beasts. But this world was struck with a tragedy when a wave of monsters fell from purplish green spirals that appeared on the sky, following this occurrence the monsters that had fell from the sky started rampaging in the nearby villages and towns quickly causing mayhem and destruction wherever they attacked.
After a lot of effort, the various kingdoms of that time were able to resist the monsters that had appeared in their territories. Following their success, the ominous spirals that had occupied the sky stopped releasing waves of monsters and the people of this magical land cheered as the spirals shattered like some ordinary piece of glass, returning the sky to its original light blue color making it seem as if nothing had happened.
But the carnage left as an aftermath of this attack remained as the various villages were left in utter ruins not likely to recover and fated to perish in the midst of this chaos. The various scholars of this world started frantically looking for any information related to this disaster. The rulers of this land also looked through their history books seeking guidance from their past ancestors. They then came across the information they needed it was mentioned that this disaster has struck this magical world before and they had faced an even greater struggle in trying to defeat those terrifying monsters, almost tethering on the brink of destruction.
But that is when fortune appeared before their doom. They came across a mysterious set of runes that formed a magical circuit in an ancient ruin they had found from their ancestors and lost tomes and quickly activated the runes. And that was when a bright light filled the area before four mysterious people appeared seemingly summoned out of thin air, it was then noticed that these four individuals each carried a different weapon. The people then found out this group of people came from a word different from theirs and the weapons they held were the key to defeating the waves of monsters.
After this the past rulers agreed to cooperate in helping these heroes grow so that they can save their world from peril. After a long arduous journey, the four heroes were able to defeat the monsters and the terrifying spirals shattered once more but this time never to be seen again. After that history tells that each hero went their separate ways and continued doing wonders in the time, they stayed in this world, but time was a cruel mistress as these legendary heroes vanished from the throes of this land and their stories of glory seemed to have faded away. But their legendary feats still exist in the various history books of this world. Ye Xiu interested by the story kept on reading the intro. The event then continued to explain that the current rulers when realizing the cause behind the monster attacks wasted no time and summoned you the player to save their world from peril. Your job as a hero is to protect the kingdom you had spawned at and defeat the various monsters that come from the 'Waves of Catastrophe'.
Ye Xiu then finished the introduction of the story, but he didn't immediately start his adventure as a hero instead he searched for related forums dealing with this event. A long list then appeared in his search results Ye Xiu was momentarily stunned before seeming to understand the reason behind it. He then looked at a bunch of info that could help in his initial start of his journey and others that could help later on.
He came across topics like; 'Best place to grind in Slitvelt in beginner stages' or 'Potions that are essential for your journey and where to get them'. There were easily hundreds of these types of topics. Ye Xiu not planning on looking at all of them just glanced at the ones he had found interesting (aside from the basic essentials). He then existed the forums and went back to the game, quickly clicking on the option saying to continue. But that was when something strange happened. The desktop's screen suddenly starting glowing in a bright light. Ye Xiu confused by this occurrence and feeling slightly wary reached his hand to restart the game but before his fingers could reach the button, the screen suddenly flashed with an intense light immediately disorienting Ye Xiu.
After a while, Ye Xiu was able to partially get ahold of his five senses. As he tried to make sense on what had just happened, he notices a drastic change to his surroundings. He was surprised on what he was seeing and wondered if he fell from his chair and hit his head because of the previous flash of light, but before he could continue with this train of thought he started hearing whispers seemingly coming from the spot in front of him. As he finally got control of his body his eyes started making out the area around him. From his observations, he was in dimly lit room where the main source of light seems to be the glowing scriptures written on the floor.
Ye Xiu still confused on what was going on sees one of the figures that had been whispering about him step forward. Ye Xiu then looked at the figure who seemed to be wearing some sort of ceremonial garbs when, suddenly the figure knelt down and in a pleading voice spoke out loud, "Oh legendary hero please save our world from destruction!" The remaining figures also knelt down repeating the previous words. And following those words was the beginning of an epic tale that will last for the coming ages.