A distant sound... like something whispering behind a glass veil.
Karl opened his eyes suddenly, his breath ragged, as if his chest had been trapped in a cage.
He looked around quickly. The room... his room.
Gray walls, the old wooden desk, half-drawn curtains, pale light creeping timidly inside.
Even his virtual reality headset, the V-Neural Prime 7, was in its usual place on the shelf beside the bed.
But something... no—everything was wrong.
He sat up slowly, his hands trembling. Reached for his phone.
> Time: 12:01 PM – July 23
The cold light of the screen confirmed what he didn't want to believe.
Exactly five hours before Yggdrasil launched.
"Impossible…"
He whispered the word as if tasting poison.
He remembered everything...
The game's launch. The chaos. The warnings. The screams inside the helmets.
Trapped players, lost friends, killings, terror...
Death.
He remembered his death.
"This... is just a dream."
He stood up, rushed to the window, and opened it.
City noise, summer air, the hum of cars... the world seemed far too normal.
"Or am I...?"
He dug his nails into his arm. The pain was real. A tear fell unconsciously.
Moments of silence. His heart pounding, sweat cold.
If this was a dream... then why did it feel like he had come back to life?
Karl's hands trembled as he stared at the black headset on the shelf.
"It's the reason... it killed us all."
He whispered as he stepped toward it with heavy steps, like every cell in his body wanted to smash it.
He picked it up, stared at it. It hadn't changed. Same sleek design, same metallic coating, same deadly silence.
He clenched it tightly, breathing fast, veins bulging, eyes burning.
Just one second more—and he would've smashed it to the ground.
But his hand froze.
The headset trembled slightly in his grip—not by its own doing, but from a memory.
> She was there, laughing as she put on her headset for the first time.
She wore her loose white shirt, hair tied in a messy bun, but her face was lit with excitement.
"Karl! Finally! We're going to play together! Finally…"
His older sister. Lisa.
The headset slipped gently from his hands as he stepped back, whispering her name like it was a ghost.
He grabbed his phone again, opened contacts, tapped her name:
"Lisa (❤)"
It rang once… twice… three times…
> "Sorry, I can't come to the phone right now. Please leave a message…"
His voice was hoarse.
"Lisa… listen to me, please. Don't enter the game. Yggdrasil... don't ever enter it.
No matter what they say, no matter the offer... don't log into the game.
The game is real. And the death inside it... is real.
Please... believe me."
He hit "Send", then sat in silence, eyes staring into the void.
He thought about warning the world. Posting something online.
But who would believe him?
A trembling boy claiming he "came back in time", speaking of a game that kills in real life?
He scoffed at himself. A dead laugh escaped his mouth.
> "No one will believe. And no one will survive."
Karl sat in the dimness of his room, his hand damp with cold sweat as he stared at the damned headset.
He thought a hundred times of breaking it, and a hundred more of putting it on and ending it all.
But something in his chest resisted... and spoke.
> "What is this? Fear? Or hatred?"
He closed his eyes.
And suddenly, he was there...
In the middle of the black forest.
A soft wind blowing, leaves fluttering, moonlight trickling through the branches.
Beside him... Irene, the young priestess who sacrificed herself so he wouldn't die.
In front of them... Vyne, commander of the Sixth Legion, his eternal rival, the one he faced in the final battle.
> "You won't die alone, Karl..."
Irene said it as she pulled him from the beast's jaws, before collapsing in his arms.
> "In the end, we were enemies... only because the system wanted it."
Vyne said it with a laugh, stabbed from behind, before fading into light.
Their voices were still etched in him.
They weren't just data. He had loved them. Hated them. Lost them.
He opened his eyes, slowly.
> "I have the memories. I have the knowledge. And maybe... I have time."
He approached the computer. Created a new account—
Not just a name… but an identity.
---
🎭 The Mask: Strix Sapientia – The Owl of Knowledge
A name inspired by the Latin words Strix (night owl) and Sapientia (wisdom).
A symbol of wisdom, vigilance, and truth hidden in darkness.
The mask: a black metallic owl face, wide glowing green eyes, ancient symbolic carvings.
---
He opened a new video recording interface, voice distorted, face concealed by the mask.
> "Hello, beginners… or should I say, the next victims."
He paused. Looked at the camera. Closed his eyes, then continued:
> "I'm not a hero. I won't ask you to believe the unbelievable.
What I'll offer... is a path.
It might save some of you. Or maybe not.
This isn't a game review.
It's a will from the future."
A small symbol appeared in the background:
> 🜁 Survival Blog of Yggdrasil 🜁
The Path to Day Ten
He hit "Save". Then "Upload".
And now...
Everything would change.
---
Only 30 minutes left.
That's all that remained before the game's launch...
And on a small subforum connected to Yggdrasil, the video spread like wildfire through dry leaves.
---
📹 Video Title:
💀 Things No One Will Tell You – The Only Survivor Speaks
🎭 By: Strix Sapientia
---
In the first 10 minutes, 3,200 players watched it.
By minute 15, it reached #4 on the trending list.
By minute 27, views surpassed 58,000.
> "What I'm about to say won't be found in any game manual.
This isn't a review—it's a final chance."
A distorted voice. An owl mask. A dark background.
But the content? A bomb of information.
---
🗡️ The Hidden Panel 🛡️
"Every player starts with five basic stats:
1. Strength – Your physical damage.
2. Endurance – Your ability to withstand and survive.
3. Agility – Your speed, your dodging.
4. Wisdom – Your mana, your mental focus, your resistance.
5. Intelligence – Your magical fire. How hard it hits, and how long it lasts.
Each stat starts at 5 points.
You get 4 free points to distribute… sounds fair, doesn't it?
But that's just an illusion."
---
🔍 What Won't Be Told: The Hidden Bonus Points 🔍
"There are secret ways to strengthen your character before reaching Level 10—if you know where to look.
⬛ Knight Training Room
▪ Destroy 10 dummies: +1 Strength, +1 Endurance
▪ Earn title: Novice Warrior – Physical damage +1%
⬛ Mage Training Room
▪ Gain: +1 Intelligence, +1 Wisdom
▪ Earn title: Novice Mage – Magic damage +1%
⬛ Assassin's Room
▪ Grants: +1 Agility, +1 Strength
⬛ Healer's Room
▪ Grants: +2 Wisdom
> "These aren't just numbers. They're life or death in a world that rewards survivors—not fools."
---
⚠️ Level Ten Danger ⚠️
"Level 10 isn't just a number...
It's an explosive hell.
The first to reach Level 10 in each city? Triggers a disaster event:
▪ The safe city turns into a massacre zone
▪ Monsters attack randomly
▪ Order won't return unless...
▪ The boss monster is defeated
▪ Or the player who caused it... is killed
> So don't rush. Let everyone prepare.
Think as if you're the last one alive."
---
📜 What He Didn't Say Directly... But Everyone Understood
In the comments:
> "Oh my God… this guy knows stuff not even the devs do!"
"Who is this? How does he know?"
"He's a beta tester, for sure! But why risk this?"
Others said:
> "We have to find those training rooms ASAP."
"No one reaches Level 10! Wait for coordination!"
---
In the forum moderator offices:
> "Delete the video immediately."
"Trace the IP."
"Where did that mask come from?"
But time... ran out.
---
🕛 Countdown: 00:00:30
Yggdrasil servers launch in thirty minutes.
---
Karl... or rather Strix Sapientia, sat in front of the screen, watching the numbers rise, the notifications explode.
But he didn't smile. He didn't feel victorious.
All he felt was... urgency.
> "Every second gives us a chance. Every piece of knowledge saves someone.
But the game... hasn't even started yet."
---
Can he really change anything?
Will any of this matter?
Will he actually save anyone... or simply add himself to the death toll once more?
Karl sat on his bed, staring at the countdown:
> 00:05:13
Five minutes and thirteen seconds from hell.
Doubt devoured him like a hungry animal gnawing at his heart.
Memories of the game crashed over him mercilessly:
Screams, blood, betrayals...
Three years inside Yggdrasil, lived like an eternity.
> "I survived, but at what cost?
How much did I lose? How much of my life and heart did I pay?"
He was on the verge of collapse… when the phone rang.
It was her number.
His sister.
---
"Karl? What's wrong? What's with this weird message?"
Her voice was real, clear, steady amidst the chaos.
Karl curled into himself, as if something broke inside.
He couldn't speak at first.
Then… he began to cry.
With a trembling voice, he said:
"Please... don't enter the game. I swear, it's more dangerous than you can imagine. Just believe me this once."
She paused, then replied with worry:
"Karl… what's going on?"
"I came back in time. I don't know how… but I saw the end.
I saw you die.
Please, just this once… listen to me."
She was about to argue, but he continued, broken:
> "There's a blog inside the game. Strix Sapientia.
Look for me there.
Message me through the forum inbox… that'll be all we have between us."
Silence… then she whispered:
> "Okay. I won't log in… I'll wait for you."
Karl ended the call slowly.
His hands trembled.
But in his eyes... was light.
---
He entered his sister's room.
Saw the new headset on her desk.
Lifted it slowly... then smashed it in one blow on the floor.
> "You survived... again."
He returned to his room, placed a small note on his own headset.
Wrote clearly:
---
📜
"I'm sorry... There are people waiting for me to save them.
Note: Removing the headset will result in immediate death."
---
00:01:09
One minute and a few seconds remaining.
He sat before the door.
Faced the screen.
Put on the headset.
Took a deep breath...
> "I saved one person… that's enough to begin."
00:00:03
00:00:02
00:00:01
With a steady, quiet whisper:
> "Logging in to Yggdrasil."
---