In the real world, the sky slowly deepened into night as the sun set below the mountains. Conversely, players immersed in Another World were just welcoming the vibrant rise of the morning sun.
The game's hyper-realism, coupled with the unprecedented ability to trade in-game items for real-world currency, were the primary magnets drawing players into 'Another World.' This unique economic lure also compelled many unwilling veteran gamers and e-sports professionals to enter Another World, leading to a massive surge in player numbers.
With that surge in excitement came a massive spike in sales for the Nexus VR headset, which easily topped the charts of every electronics retailer. The phenomenon was so profound that governments in various countries began incorporating the Nexus VR and its underlying technology into their school systems, recognizing its potential for practical education.
This massive popularity of Another World—a game where digital success meant real-world wealth, quickly caught the attention of the world's most famous retired professional e-sport player, who went by the universally recognized title: "Glorious Queen."
The player behind the "Glorious Queen" moniker was Lyra, an individual once hailed as the undisputed greatest female e-sports player in the world.
However, her spectacular career, marked by a series of champion titles, ended abruptly. It was destroyed by a devastating match-fixing scandal that, while never directly proving her personal guilt, utterly annihilated her public reputation and forced her into self-imposed exile away from the entire virtual competitive scene.
....
In a dimly lit apartment, there sat a woman, her hands clutching the edges of what looked like the Nexus VR headset. She then raised the device, its sleek casing reflecting the meager light, and positioned it over her eyes.
"Now or never," she murmured, her voice steady. "I will reclaim my GLORY."
[Logging into Another World....]
[Please enter your ID]
"GloriousQueen"
[Welcome to Another World!]
....
Before Lyra stood a pack of predators. Their white fur, thick and unnaturally pale, synchronized perfectly with the moonlight creeping through the tree branches. They were the [Horned Dire Wolf].
[Horned Dire Wolf]
[LVL. 4 HP: 180]
[Nocturnal pack hunters that favor ambush tactics. Their most dangerous feature is the hardened, spiral horn that grows from their skull, which they seamlessly use as a bladed weapon in combat. Their quick reflexes make them difficult targets for ranged spellcasters.]
Lyra, unlike the heavily armed, cheap-gear avatars in Aethel Town, was dressed in a worn, functional set of red steel armor, as she gripped the hilt of her sword.
The pack leader, a massive wolf with a horn almost as long as Lyra's forearm, sprang first.
Clang!
Lyra didn't flinch. Her reaction time, honed over a decade of world class e-sports, was inhuman. She brought her sword up, not to strike, but to parry the charging wolf's horn. The metal-on-horn impact sent a shower of sparks into the air, the force of the blow jarring her arm but not breaking her stance. The wolves were using their horns as deadly, carriage stopping blades, and she met the attack head-on.
Lyra used the momentum of the parry to pivot her body, effortlessly dodging the counter attack from the wolf's claws. She then spun her blade, plunging it deep into the vulnerable flank of the beast.
-45!
The wolf howled, staggering back. Lyra didn't wait, as the two other wolves immediately rushed her, one aiming low, the other aiming for her head.
She sidestepped the low attack, letting the second wolf's attack pass inches above her scalp. In the brief moment the two wolves were tangled up in their own aggression, Lyra executed a blindingly fast combination: she slashed the throat of the first wolf, then twisted the sword and sunk it into the shoulder of the second.
-50!
-48!
The combined damage sent the second wolf reeling. Lyra took a single, deep breath, her movements fluid and deadly. She had successfully engaged a pack of Level 4 monsters entirely in close-quarters combat—a feat that would have terrified a Level 4 mage. But for the "Glorious Queen," this was just a warm-up. She had always preferred the brutal, immediate efficiency of the blade.
Furthermore, as a Level 4 [Warrior] specializing in fast, close-range damage, she saw the Wym Forest as the perfect, high-EXP ground.
To Lyra, the game's new expansion was more than just a chance at wealth, it was her path back. If she ever wished to truly reclaim her lost GLORY, then ascending and reaching the top of the treacherous [Draken Tower] was an absolute must.
Clang!
She quickly parried another charge from the wolves, but this time she was even quicker, as she immediately sidestepped and plunged her blade at their sides.
-90!
[Killed Level 4 Horned Dire Wolf! Gained 25 experience points.]
With an elegant swing of her blade, the virtual blood of the downed Dire Wolf pack leader flickered off the steel, as Lyra didn't even spare the corpse a second glance.
Her focus instantly sharpened, locking onto the remaining two [Horned Dire Wolf] that were circling cautiously on their edge. They were wounded and wary, but still dangerous. Lyra raised her sword, adopting a low, ready stance. The fight was far from over.
Clang!
-59!
Clang!
-48!
She was relentless, every strike living up to her name as the Glorious Queen!
Immediately, she launched herself forward, her movements a blur as she executed the devastating [Dragon Slash] skill. It was a single, fiery whirlwind of steel that carved a wide arc across the clearing, as its flaming edges slammed into the two remaining wolves.
The terrified monsters didn't have time to react. The force of the blow combined with the heat instantly overpowered their natural defenses. Their panicked howls were cut short as their bodies crumpled to the ground, the fire extinguishing itself just as quickly as it had appeared.
Ding!
[Killed Level 4 Horned Dire Wolf! Gained 25 experience points.]
[Killed Level 4 Horned Dire Wolf! Gained 25 experience points.]
Lyra pulled her sword back, as she checked her status screen. The substantial EXP boost, combined with the earlier damage she had inflicted, pushed her over the threshold.
Ding!
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 5!]
[Skill: Power Slash has reached Level 5!]
[Equipment: Novice Sword has reached Level 5!]
[You have gained 5 attribute points!]
With the last breath of the wolves taken, Lyra continued her journey through the Wym Forest until she finally reached her destination, which was Silverpeak, one of the few sanctuary locations in Another World.
Then,
At Silverpeak, Lyra immediately made inquiries about rent prices and available inns, as she had already spent a significant portion of her gold coins on buying two rare items: the Red Dragon Armour and the Flame Dragon Sword, both at Aethel Town. She now desired a quiet space to formulate her next step.