Karl's body reformed in the real world right after leaving [Gods Ascension].

The sudden shift from the game to reality always felt strange, even after getting used to it, and the moment he opened his eyes, he realized the sun was already up.

He had spent around ten hours inside the game, which explained why it was now bright outside.

As always, [Gods Ascension] was packed during the morning and afternoon.

That was when the majority of players chose to enter, and it made perfect sense.

The world they lived in now ran entirely on [Lives], and the only real method to gain more was to grow stronger inside the game.

Anyone who refused to enter [Gods Ascension] was a rarity.

People like that barely existed anymore, because refusing to progress was the same as willingly throwing away their future.

Karl knew that better than anyone.

In fact, the only reason he had been able to survive at all before was by doing odd jobs in exchange for food.

Since he was still below eighteen, he wasn't allowed to trade for [Lives].

He had been stuck living day to day, doing whatever tasks he could find just to avoid starving.

It had been brutal, exhausting, and hopeless… but it had been so long ago now that Karl almost forgot what that life felt like.

He walked through the streets of [Ascension City], heading toward his apartment.

His [Moon Crystal Staff] followed him through the transition from game to reality, floating calmly beside him until he grabbed it with one hand.

Weapons carried over physically, and skill effects were tied to them.

[Skills: Fire Meteor (Mythical)]

Even though the only skill he had access to outside the game was [Fire Meteor], he didn't mind.

Players were forbidden from using any spells inside the cities regardless, unless there was an actual emergency.

Karl completely agreed with that rule.

If players were freely allowed to cast attacks inside the cities, the entire place would collapse into chaos within hours.

Everything would be destroyed.

'Well,' Karl thought as his expression darkened slightly, 'it's not like any of the cities are going to keep going for much longer anyway.'

Coming from the future meant he knew things nobody else did.

And that included the disasters that would eventually strike humanity again.

The [First Calamity] had been the event that wiped out the majority of the population and forced the survivors into the last three safe zones: [Ascension City], [Eternal City], and [God City].

But the name said everything: [First Calamity].

If something was called the first, then it implied there was at least a second.

And Karl knew for a fact that the second one was coming.

Exactly five years after the arrival of [Gods Ascension], the [Second Calamity] struck with overwhelming power.

This time, two out of the three cities were wiped out, leaving only one to stand in the end.

The last one standing would be [Ascension City] the very city Karl was in now.

He stepped inside his home, took a deep breath, and looked out the window at the massive structures surrounding him.

His expression stayed neutral, calm despite the horrifying knowledge he carried.

'I'll be fine as long as I manage all of this correctly,' he thought.

The [Tired] effect from the game didn't go away immediately.

It stuck to him for a while, making it so staying home doing nothing wouldn't help.

So instead of lying around, Karl changed into casual clothes, since he hadn't extracted his [Undead Moon Mage Robe] in the real world.

Once he was ready, he left his apartment.

'I guess I can go to the market area, then sleep afterward.'

The cities humanity built weren't very large, but they were designed well enough to hold all the surviving players.

And since [Lives] had become the new currency of the world, it was natural for people to try taking advantage of that.

It created an entire system of trading, bargaining, and even scamming.

"Selling amazing level 70 items for warriors and assassins!"

"If you need help getting through the [Flower Labyrinth], I can carry you."

There were players shouting everywhere, promoting their services or advertising gear.

Karl ignored most of them and instead entered a shop.

Inside were rows of shelves filled with skill books, neatly arranged by type, rarity, and class.

---

[Water Jet (Rare): Mage-type skill book. Requirement: Level 50]

[Vine Swing (Uncommon): Mage-type skill book. Requirement: Level 49]

---

There were dozens upon dozens of books like these, mage skills, warrior skills, assassin skills, support skills, and everything in between.

But as Karl skimmed through the price tags attached to each one, he paused.

'Holy hell,' he thought.

The cheapest skill book cost at least 5,000 lives.

Some cost double that. Some cost ten times more.

People might call it robbery, but in reality, for permanent abilities with high-level requirements, the price made sense.

Still, it didn't help him. He couldn't afford even the cheapest one.

Karl's main goal wasn't to buy anything anyway. He had only come to observe.

If he managed to later obtain a skill book compatible with one of his spells, he could finally test his class's fourth passive properly.

Once he finished looking through the shop, Karl walked outside again without buying anything.

He stared down at his own hands, then at the staff he carried in his right hand.

'I need to become much stronger,' he thought.

He wandered through the city for about an hour, checking the market district, listening to the chatter around him, and paying attention to anything unusual.

But nothing interesting happened in the end.

Eventually, Karl returned home and sat on his bed, placing the staff beside him.

'Well, I guess I better rest.'

As he had already thought earlier, there were no real "jobs" left in the world.

The only things people could do were odd tasks that gave barely anything.

Actual money no longer existed. Lives were everything.

Even so, Karl felt satisfied with his first day in [Gods Ascension].

His strength was now at least a hundred times greater than in his previous life.

That alone gave him a sense of relief.

Eventually, after staring at the ceiling for a while, Karl drifted off and fell asleep.

…

Karl opened his eyes.

But instead of waking up in his room, he found himself standing in a vast, empty void.

Darkness stretched out endlessly in every direction.

There was no light source, yet he could see himself clearly.

It felt strange, unnatural.

"Huh," he muttered softly.

He looked around again, turning slowly. Nothing changed.

No matter where he looked, he only saw more darkness. It felt cold, silent, and too still.

"This is…"

He guessed he must have been dreaming. It made sense.

Nothing else could explain why he was in such a place.

He stayed calm. He didn't panic.

He simply prepared himself to wait until the dream ended.

But just as he was about to sit down—

BOOM!

The entire void trembled. Ripples spread through the darkness like shockwaves.

Karl snapped his eyes upward just in time to see something massive emerging from above him.

A colossal eye, larger than anything, appeared.

Its pupil was a swirling purple vortex, rotating endlessly, giving off an otherworldly feeling.

It radiated presence, pressure, power.

'God of Oblivion,' Karl thought calmly, 'So you can even reach into my dreams.'

[They sensed that something was wrong.]

[Not much longer before they notice you and throw everything they have.]

[Grow stronger.]

The text appeared within his mind, carrying the presence of the God itself.

Before Karl could speak or ask anything—

Fwish!

The void rippled again, this time violently. Something else was forming.

The eye didn't vanish, but instead watched silently as the darkness twisted.

Rumble!

A stone altar rose from the ground, or from the void itself.

An altar with a giant eye symbol carved onto it, glowing faintly.

[Step ahead, I shall help you.]

The message echoed, and Karl felt something instinctual stirring in him.

A deep, overwhelming pull, like his body already knew what to do.

He took a breath. And instinctively, he stepped forward.

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