Seven appeared inside the [Goblin Village] dungeon, and not long after, Sora materialized beside him.
Moments later, more figures arrived—Twelve, Seventy, and others, drawn by the presence of their long-lost brother.
Sora frowned as the [Alter Egos] swarmed Seven, bombarding him with questions.
"I don't mind everyone taking a break to hear what Seven has to say, but you should take a step back and let him breathe."
Many ignored his words. Sora sighed, already preparing to resort to violence.
But before he could act, Twelve, who had a hand on Seven's shoulder, took a closer look at the man's expression and sighed. He removed his hand and took a step back.
"Everyone, let's listen to boss for once. Be quiet."
Sora was surprised to see the [Alter Egos] actually obey. Not just that, but they stepped back smiling.
'Did this guy create a clones' union behind my back or something?'
But Seven, who had been watching the exchange, wasn't in the mood to joke.
"Guys. I don't know what you've been up to for a month, but I hope you've made enough progress—because you can't hide anymore."
Silence.
Before anyone could question him, Seven continued.
"We read the notification when the update ended. 'The world is now a single, unified battlefield with no regional restrictions. The top thirty cities in the world will be the only remaining safe areas.' That's what the system said."
His voice grew heavier. "And what happened after that was simple, yet brutal. Five races have formed an alliance and focused their attacks on our kingdom. Dwarves. Spirits. Demons. Dark Elves. Werewolves."
Sora's frown deepened. "Wasn't that just a temporary alliance to deal with threats like Salim, Kara, and me?"
Seven shook his head. "It went beyond that. They sent similar squads all over the world to kill the best elites."
Seven took a deep breath before delivering the real gut punch.
"I came back to life a few days ago and appeared in Spain. I ran to Paris as fast as possible. What I saw while traveling… it's worse than we feared."
He hesitated, then spoke words that were difficult to hear.
"Only Paris is left standing. France is no more."
The [Alter Egos] around him stiffened. Some turned pale.
"And according to what I've learned, in other countries at least six hundred million humans have died in the last month."
"Most of the killing happened on the first day after the update. But they stopped wiping us out after that. Instead, they're keeping our losses below 10% on purpose."
Sora murmured, "Each kingdom is protected for 30 days upon losing ten percent of its population…"
Seven nodded grimly. "Exactly. They're carefully controlling the numbers, keeping our kingdom locked in a permanent state of war."
He clenched his fists. "They even offered peace to certain regions. All they had to do was hand over their elites—or betray their neighbors' elites instead."
Sora's expression twisted with disgust. "Who the hell would comply with that?"
Seven sighed. "No one so far. Everyone knows what's at stake. But the mere offer created paranoia and division. No one trusts anyone anymore and calls for helps are being ignored."
The weight of Seven's words hung in the air.
But then, he added, "That's only one problem. The second issue is tied directly to you."
Sora's gaze sharpened.
"Salim's kingdom is gone," Seven continued, "but thanks to the demon squad that came to our aid, most of his people survived and entered Seoul. The problem is what happened after that…"
Sora's stomach tightened. "What do you mean?"
"After that, the news of the deaths of Ralph Eden, Kara Spirine, and Salim Msakni spread worldwide, and it triggered all kinds of reactions."
Sora tensed. "And?"
"I won't waste time talking about those mourning us. What matters is that we are being blamed for losing the [Ark] and delivering it into enemy hands."
For a second, Sora's brain refused to process the words.
"That's not true." Sora answered, "You know what I did with it."
He had given [Haven of Peace] to Kara. And before entering Seoul, she had made sure it was in safe hands—his parents'.
Seven met his gaze. "Of course, I do. But others assumed you lost it. Mom and Dad tried defending you. And now, they're going through hell for it."
"What?" Sora's voice was dangerously low.
Rage.
Sora had thought he was getting used to loss, to betrayal. But this was beyond reason.
He took a deep breath. "Did you talk to them?"
Seven shook his head. "I didn't. I reached out to Sin Soo-Yun instead. She gave me most of this information. Our parents' situation is the first major issue outside."
Sora's mind was already racing with plans.
'What a mess I've created... I put my parents in danger again.' He thought, deeply regretting involving his parents in his dangerous life."
But before he could act, Seven dropped the third and final bombshell.
"The last problem? It's happening in North America."
Sora turned to him, puzzled. "What's happening there? And what does it have to do with us?"
Seven's lips curled into a strange smile. "There's a massive war between two guilds. [GODS] have attacked a guild with the name of… [ARAM]."
Sora, Twelve, Seventy, and the others froze.
Twelve spoke first. "Did you just say [ARAM]? As in Emily and Kim's guild? Our guild?"
Seven nodded. "Yep. I don't know all the details, but a week ago, Emily and Kim moved [ARAM]'s headquarters to North America. Soon after, [GODS] declared war on them."
Sora's confusion deepened. "Why? What possible reason would they have?"
Seven's grin faded. "Because of their latest recruits."
He paused, then said two names.
"Alius and Hope."
Sora's eyes widened. "Hope? Alius saved her?"
Seven nodded. "Not just that. He crushed some of the top talents from [GODS] in the process. Now, they're out for blood."
Sora's mind raced. 'Didn't Alius say he was going after Hannah's faction?'
"Wait," Sora frowned, "What happened?"
Seven's expression turned grim.
"Hannah reached level 230 right after the update. And she took over [GODS]."
Silence.
Everyone knew what that meant.
Twelve exhaled, shaking his head. "Of course she did."
Nineteen nodded. "She probably took back all her investments and sacrificed all her slaves to power-level herself. She is the one hunting Alius and Hope."
Seven, however, shook his head, "It's not exactly the case. It seem that [GODS] are struggling against [ARAM]. The real problem is that two of the strongest human forces are fighting each other while others struggle to survive everyday."
Sora was thinking about the situation.
His parents were under fire. His guild was at war. Humanity was losing a battle of survival.
"We can't stay here forever. We need to do something. We need to protect our own. And most of all—we need to strike back."
Silence.
Then, Twelve scoffed. "You're right. But do you actually have a plan?"
Sora nodded. "You guys will remain here. Keep training. I'll come back every month for an update. While we grow stronger, you'll stay safe."
Twelve's face twisted. "Safe? You have a thousand brothers stronger than any human out there, and you'd rather go solo? Are you stupid?"
Sora frowned, already preparing to argue, but before he could, Nineteen cut in.
"Twelve is quite dumb and rarely makes sense, but today he's right. You won't go far on your own. Did you forget about the reinforcements the enemy kingdoms received? Sarsha said it before, humanity's population advantage only lasted during the first update. All kingdoms have players vastly superior to you. You need us."
Seventy leaned forward, smirking. "I don't know if it's a trend to call others stupid in this conversation, but I guess I'll follow along. Did you all forget about the countless opportunities out there? And the insane benefits of pushing our innate skill to the limit?"
He looked around before continuing.
"If we die, we reset. We can reach Level 50 in the blink of an eye. We get an extra life for free every time. We should be abusing this, not hiding in a dungeon."
Sora fell silent. He couldn't deny that their reasoning made sense.
Then, One Hundred-One finally spoke.
"My sword craves blood…"
Sora felt the sheer bloodlust oozing from his sword as One Hundred-One paused.
"Holding back against my brothers is limiting my growth. There's no need for everyone to attack. Let my company handle it."
Sora's gaze moved to the hundred [Alter Egos] specialized in swordsmanship. They stood there, menacingly.
He sighed, shaking his head.
"You really are a bunch of lunatics."
Sora crossed his arms. "And what will you do if you're killed before reaching Level 50? Or worse—captured?"
A brief silence followed.
Then, Twelve grinned. "Well… you could always make more clones…"
His words sent a chill down Sora's spine. His expression darkened instantly as he shot Twelve a death glare, his mental power flaring for an instant.
Twelve chuckled nervously but didn't take back his words.
One Hundred-One, who had been quietly wiping his blade with a cloth, finally looked up.
"You're the only one who has something to lose, Sora."
He added, "Let go of your fear. If we die, so be it."
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