CHAPTER 11: CHAPTER 11: THE ETERNAL GAME IS REAL, OBLIVION’S REPUTATION

Stark had already pushed himself to level 5.

His movements through the shadow forest were calm, efficient, and merciless.

While he farmed alone, news began spreading across the world: the very first batch of players had finally reached level 3.

And that single milestone changed everything.

Ding!

[You can return to reality.]

For the first time, people realized the first part of the "tutorial" had an endpoint.

Those who managed to reach level 3 could leave [Eternal Soul].

They could return to their real bodies, then come back whenever they wanted.

Whenever someone was dragged into [Eternal Soul], their bodies in the real world would disappear as they were transported to this other realm.

Family members and friends who witnessed it were thrown into panic.

Some people outright refused to sleep, terrified that they would vanish forever.

And then, those level 3 players finally returned.

Their words only made the confusion worse.

"After falling asleep, we were... transported somewhere. It’s called [Eternal Soul]."

"We had to fight monsters. And there were systems, stats, levels, all of that."

"Basically like a game? How does that even make sense?"

"And it can make you stronger, what?"

"That system of lives is pretty weird, not gonna lie, but I don’t wanna find out what happens if your lives reach zero."

...

The [Teleportation Array] in novice towns worked in a two-way manner.

Meaning that even if Stark lit up the array in his town, it was useless as the others towns needed someone to reach level 5 and activate it.

That was why he wasn’t in much of a rush.

Moreover, Stark wanted to reach level 10 as quickly as possible.

That would allow him to leave this small novice town behind and enter the next stage, where the true beginning of [Eternal Soul] awaited.

He resumed his hunting in the shadow forest, cutting down wave after wave of monsters with precise blasts of magic.

Though while doing so, his thoughts drifted to Max and Seren.

’We spawned in the same town in my past life, but I’m pretty sure this one is different.’

They were at the top of his kill list after all, so finding their town and teleporting there to kill them would be the best thing he could do.

Finding that town would be difficult though.

A flicker of cold killing intent sharpened his eyes.

’But I’ll find it, no matter what, and if I can’t... then I’ll do it in the real world.’

Half an hour passed, and Stark had finally reached level 6.

He was aware that he had points to allocate.

[Free Points to Allocate: 15]

He paused for a moment, glancing at the glowing notification.

As a mage, he didn’t need strength.

His constitution was still low, yes, but survivable.

What he needed most was sharper magic and faster reflexes.

"Seven into Agility. Eight into Spirit," he muttered.

Power flowed into him immediately.

His body felt lighter, his mind clearer, his spells sharper.

One by one, the ferocious monsters in the eyes of most players were instantly killed by Stark.

...

Meanwhile, in the real world, official reports were already being made.

"Be careful of [Eternal Soul]."

That was the main message in the report.

But people couldn’t avoid sleeping forever.

Plus, they couldn’t resist the pull of the game.

Speculation began spreading online.

In addition to that, the top players across the world were making the news.

"I’m telling you, that Oblivion guy is a transmigrator."

"What the fuck are you even talking about?"

"Think about it, he reached level 3 and didn’t leave immediately, he definitely knows something!"

"Man... stop reading so many novels and get your act straight."

Several instances of people losing all their lives and dying were recorded.

The number was rather low as this was only the start of the game, but people already began to take it seriously.

But of course, they didn’t know that the real chaos was yet to come.

...

Far away, Max and Seren spawned together in [Novice Town #637].

Unlike most unlucky beginners, both of them hit the jackpot.

They both got [Hidden Classes], after all!

Seren awakened as a [Life Priest], wielding the [Healing of Divinity] talent, an S-Rank ability that amplified her healing magic to absurd levels.

Max became a [Blood Warrior], with the SS-Rank talent [Blood is Fuel].

The more blood he shed, the stronger he became.

Every cut, every drop, only fueled his rage and power.

Together, they were terrifying.

Seren’s radiant healing kept Max alive through impossible fights, while Max’s raw ferocity shredded anything in his path.

They could already handle level 3 monsters without help.

And Stark knew all too well how dangerous they would become.

In his past life, he had fought alongside them.

Seren’s timely heals had saved them countless times.

Being a [Life Priest] also didn’t mean she couldn’t do damage by the way.

Later in the game, priests could actually deal a lot of damage with their attacks.

As for Max, his strength carried them through battles they should never have survived.

But their flaws... those were burned into Stark’s memory as well.

Max was arrogant. Overconfident.

His ego pushed them into reckless battles, and more often than not, Stark had been the one forced to clean up the mess.

Seren, though competent, sometimes indulged him too much.

Petty arguments, wasted time, near-death experiences, all because of them.

This time, Stark had no intention of enduring it again.

He would grow stronger than either of them, then crush them when the time was right.

...

Back in [Novice Town #783], Stark returned from another long hunt with his backpack stuffed full of loot.

Thanks to his [Storage Backpack], he had brought back fifteen valuable items.

He did a quick calculation.

If he sold everything, he’d earn at least 120 Lives.

Considering that all his monster farming had only netted him nineteen extra Lives, these lives would be substantial!

Still, before opening shop, Stark made his way to the town square.

There it was, the [Teleportation Array].

A swirling formation of runes etched into the stone, glowing with faint blue light.

He placed his hand against it.

---

[Congratulations, you have activated the Teleportation Array of Novice Town #783.]

[Novice Town #783 is now connected to other towns. You may teleport once per day for free.]

[You have gained 1 Prestige Point!]

---

After doing that, many eyes fell on Stark, and he quickly turned around, a small smile on his face.

He set up his stall, laying out the fifteen rare items one by one under the envious gazes of others.

After all, now that [Eternal Soul] was confirmed to be real and something supernatural, who wouldn’t be jealous?

"Holy crap, it’s Oblivion!"

"Hell yeah, I prepared lives just for this moment..."

"Did you hear about that [PrinceLucas] guy? He bought [Shadow Slash] from Oblivion and shot to second place on the leaderboard!"

"Yeah, he’s been praising Oblivion non-stop!"

A crowd formed almost instantly.

Everyone knew that Oblivion’s loot came from bosses, monsters far too difficult for most players at this stage.

His gear was rare, affordable, and always worth the price.

Within three minutes, everything was sold.

Players left satisfied, holding their new treasures like priceless artifacts.

Stark glanced at his balance.

[Lives: 149 → 284]

His lips curved upward.

’More than expected!’

But before leaving, he stood and raised his voice, letting it carry across the square.

"If any of you have better backpacks or storage rings," he said slowly, "I’m willing to buy them."