They arrived at the familiar iron gate.
Inside, the familiar figures were still there.
Three figures wandered around, and the appearance of the two did not draw their attention.
"Father, Mother, Nastasha, we're back. I'm sorry we couldn't find a way to lift the curse. But Ren has already made a promise with me that we will keep searching for a solution. It will take a long, long time… Can you forgive me, your incompetent daughter?"
Keno poured out her heart to the three inside, right in front of Ren.
The door was closed.
Ren knew clearly that this door might not be opened again for a very, very long time.
Keno also realized this.
The door closed slowly.
The hand closing it trembled.
Her head hung low, and her short hair could not hide the tear marks on her cheeks.
Ever since Ren said that short hair looked good, she had never let it grow long again.
The two set out on their journey once more.
This trip had no real purpose.
Wherever they heard of something strange or miraculous, they would go.
Many years passed like this.
"Ren, this time the miracle is at the northernmost snow mountain," Keno said, pointing at the map.
"Mm, then the destination this time is the snow mountain," Ren replied, and they continued on their way.
They had heard rumors in a city they passed through.
On the northernmost snow mountain, there would appear a dazzling river of stars for one day each month.
The date was fixed every month, which naturally raised suspicion.
Their journey took them through many countries, and they encountered countless events.
They recorded everything carefully.
They also decided to look for companions along the way.
After all, both were not true Undead with no emotions, but former humans.
Naturally, they wanted more companions.
But it had never been the right time, since they sought long-lived beings, and human lifespans were too short.
Walking and stopping along the way, the two finally reached the far north.
Being undeads, they were not afraid of the cold.
In fact, they found it quite comfortable.
Meanwhile, another group was heading toward the same place.
The leader wore equipment that Ren recognized.
"Are there really world-class items here? Riku," said the armor.
"It's possible. Miraculous places are the most likely to produce such items. That's what game guides say," Riku replied with a smile.
"Player…" The armor murmured, recalling the Eight Greed Kings, who were also a player and had completely changed their dragon race's position in the world.
The player they encountered now was called the Captain, growing at an astonishing speed with no limits.
This made the natives realize how terrifying players were. The dragons all had growth limits, but players did not, and they also had various world-altering tools.
At the top of the snowy mountain, a sword was stuck in the ground.
It was extremely cold here. Anyone who approached would turn into an ice sculpture.
The sunlight hit the sword, and it automatically went into light invisibility.
Approaching it also meant facing the power of ice.
However, this was no problem for Ren, who guided Keno skillfully to the sword's location.
"This is?" Keno was amazed by the sword.
"Although it's not a world-class tool, it's still an artifact. Frost Pain." Ren picked up the sword and successfully equipped it.
"How is it?" Keno showed a very interested expression.
"Hm, overall it's okay, but not as good as my gear. Let's go. There's no world-class tool here. Let's move to the next location." Ren waved and said.
"Uh, who are you? We discovered this place first." Riku spoke up.
"Step back. They are undead." The armor immediately said.
"Undead?" Riku drew his weapon.
He was a transmigrator and one of the rarer kind, who had just started playing the game.
Wearing all white, he came to this world with no tools, no artifacts, starting from zero.
This also made him the first player to form a deep bond with the natives.
"Oh? You can see through it. Not weak, huh? Why team up with him? What do you see in him?" Ren immediately sensed that Riku was a player.
After all, there were no youths with a neon-like appearance in this world, and few played games looking like that.
"Stop talking." Armor spoke again. His purpose could not be exposed.
"Keno, this is for you." Ren threw a dagger, another divine artifact—the Blade of Ten Thousand.
"Troublesome." Armor noticed something off about the weapon and glanced at Ren, vaguely suspicious, but he didn't want to think that way.
"Martial skills: Flowing Water Acceleration, Ability Enhancement, Super Enhancement, Heavy Strike." Riku launched a fierce attack on Ren after stacking a series of buffs.
This strike was not weaker than the fifth tier.
He had grown slowly from level one, which was why the Dragon Lord had taken notice.
"Ghost Shadow Flash." Ren's figure vanished in an instant, using the back of his blade to knock him out.
"You're a player, aren't you?" said the Armor.
Rigrit was a little shocked. An undead player? For humans—and really, for all other races—this could be a catastrophe.
The others were also startled, which caused them to be hit squarely by Keno.
"Hm, your aura reminds me of an opponent I defeated before," Ren said, not realizing that this Armor was just an empty shell.
"Who?"
"The Elder Coffin Dragon Lord. Saying that, you should know what I mean," Ren said with a smile, his dislike for dragons clear.
"You…" The Armor suddenly realized something. He had never thought a player could overthrow the dragons' rule—until the arrival of the Eight Greed Kings, who used world-class artifacts to forcibly alter the world's magic system, later slaughtering countless dragons.
"That's exactly who you're thinking of. He's already dead," Ren said.
The Armor didn't hesitate and immediately fled. If Ren tried to chase, he would not hesitate to abandon this Armor. He no longer had the energy to care about a player's growth. Players like Ren were the ones to be truly cautious about.
"Hey…" Rigrit wanted to stop him, but it was too late.
"All your companions have run. Is it still necessary to fight us?" Ren turned to face the others.
The Player on their side had fallen and knowing the chance of victory was slim, one by one, they began to lay down their weapons in surrender.
Keno wasn't someone who liked to slaughter, especially since she had once been human. She quickly stopped, walked to Ren's side, and made a funny face at him.
She hated those who, after realizing they were facing undead, would attack immediately. Undead could have good ones like them, too.
Soon, Riku woke up and noticed one of his companions was missing. He hurriedly asked, "Where's Tsa?"
"He betrayed us." Seeing the others remain silent, Rigrit spoke out this news.
"Why?" Riku didn't understand. He had just arrived in this world and didn't know much. Since the game had only just started, the other person had helped him a lot, and he was grateful.
"That guy is just afraid of dying." Another man in the team said angrily.
"Hold on, let me calm down first." The traveler had just lain down and fallen asleep. Waking up, he discovered a teammate was missing, and his mind needed time to process and accept this information.
Everyone fell silent. Perhaps he wasn't the strongest in the squad yet, but his talent was recognized by all, and there was no limit to how strong he could become.
Because the name of the leader of the Thirteen Heroes couldn't be found, one was randomly chosen. It didn't affect reading.
**********
Support me on my patreon and read upto 20 early chapters.
patreon.com/PirateKing24