The forge glowed softly inside, faint hammering sounds drifting out. But Ezekiel didn't approach the main entrance.
Instead, he walked out of the alleyway on the other side, then circled around the building, toward a small courtyard. As he drew near, he discovered a teenage girl sitting on a crate, braiding her ginger hair.
She looked up only when he was a meter away from the wooden fence.
The girl looked no more than nineteen, with sun-kissed skin, bright freckles, and two neat braids framing her face. Her eyes were sharp, intelligent, but rimmed with a faint weariness.
{Ariel, Blacksmith's Daughter}
Jin Young smiled faintly.
"Ariel?" He called softly.
She blinked, surprised. "Yes?"
He lowered his voice, careful to speak the exact phrase. "I was sent here by your father. He told me to let you know he'd be out late again — and not to wait for him."
For a moment, Ariel's eyes widened.
Then her shoulders slumped, a soft sigh escaping her lips.
"You know my father?" She asked, voice tinged with worry. "He's been working late so often these days… he said he was trying to finish a leather armor set, but he's struggling to get pristine wolf hides. The regular ones tear too easily."
Jin Young's eyes sharpened.
{Hidden Quest Discovered!}
Quest: Ariel's Dilemma (Pseudo-Epic)
Objective: Obtain 10 pristine wolf hides for Lance the Blacksmith.
Time Limit: 3 Hours
Rewards: ???
A slow grin spread across his face.
In ReLife — quests, items, treasure chests, weapons, equipments, even classes — everything were ranked in this way: Common, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Pseudo-Epic, Epic, Pseudo-Legendary, and Legendary.
Among these tiers, anything starting with Pseudo-Epic could be considered as unique.
But even if this particular quest wasn't unique, most players wouldn't even know it existed — as it had several strict requisites.
Firstly, a player had to be at Level 1 to qualify for this quest. Any higher, and the quest wouldn't trigger.
Secondly, the player was required to meet Lance deep in the wild to learn the exact words to repeat to his daughter, then circle back to Ariel.
To meet the second condition, as in, while venturing into the wild deep enough to meet Lance, a player needed to avoid fighting and leveling up.
But the trickiest part wasn't even that.
Wolf monsters started at Level 5, and the highest they went upto was Level 7. To collect 10 pristine wolf hides within 3 hours while still being Level 1 was an impossible task for any sane individual. Thus, the Pseudo-Epic ranking of the quest.
But Ezekiel, with his forced knowledge, had bypassed the second requisite almost entirely.
"Leave it to me," he said smoothly. "I'll bring back what your father needs."
Ariel's freckled face brightened, her eyes shining. "Really? You'd help us? Thank you! I know the wolves outside Fwerah's East Gate drop pristine hides, but they're fast — you'll need to be careful!"
{Quest Accepted}
Ezekiel stepped back, heart pounding, as he made a beeline towards the East Gate.
This was his first real move — a pseudo-epic quest chain that would set him ahead of the pack by weeks. Rare gear, hidden stats, even unique class unlocks were buried behind quests like this.
He flexed his fingers experimentally.
His stats were low, his body weak — both in the game and out. But soon, that would change.
He wondered, not for the first time, how the Opera AI bridged the gap between simulation and reality.
Neural imprinting? Muscle feedback loops? Cognitive reinforcement?
But he was looking forward to find out.
He cast one last glance back at Fwerah — the towering spires, the bustling streets, the awestruck players still marveling at their new surroundings.
Then, without hesitation, Ezekiel turned toward the wild.
Let's begin.
The sun in ReLife hung high over a bright blue sky, casting fractured beams of gold through a dense canopy of giant trees.
Leaves rustled softly in the wind, sending ripples of light across the grassy floor below. Birds with feathered scales—something between a hawk and a serpent—cried out in the distance.
Ezekiel stood at the edge of Fwerah Village's boundaries, his gaze locked on the endless stretch of untamed forest. Behind him, waves of new players flooded out from the village gates like ants from a disturbed nest, brimming with excitement, confusion, and hunger for adventure.
Groups formed almost immediately. Some with preset teams, others hastily made on the spot.
"Let's farm the rabbits first! They're easy XP!"
"No, someone mentioned in the forum that snakes drop alchemical sacs! We can sell those to the NPCs!"
"Wait, do skills auto-learn or do we have to buy them?"
A chorus of questions and exclamations filled the air, laughter and nervous excitement echoing into the trees.
Ezekiel walked past them silently, his expression unreadable. His quiet presence was unnoticed amidst the lively energy of others.
Just beyond the village, the wildlands opened up. The terrain was uneven, thick with brush and fallen trees. Flora glowed faintly in the shadows. Some trees pulsed with bioluminescence even in daylight. The air smelled damp, alive.
He passed by his first encounter: a group of Level 1 Rabbits.
But these weren't the cuddly creatures of fairy tales.
They were oversized, with back legs thick as iron pistons. Their fur was a deceptive white, marbled with streaks of blood red. Their most notable trait, though, was their movement.
They could jump five meters in an instant, blink-and-you-miss-it fast. One of them leapt at a nearby player and slammed into his chest like a cannonball. The player flew back five feet, groaning in pain but not dead.
Still protected.
Opera was watching.
Next, he passed by Level 2 Snakes coiled around tree roots. They hissed but didn't strike. Their scales shimmered with an oily gloss, eyes reflecting the digital sun.
Agility-type beasts, fast and venomous. But none attacked him.
Ezekiel didn't bother them.
Deeper into the forest, the trees thickened. The air grew cooler, shadows longer. He noticed Level 4 Berserk Deers in a clearing, grazing calmly.
These beasts were majestic yet terrifying. Muscles bulged unnaturally under their velvet-brown coats, and their antlers branched out like sharpened obsidian daggers. They looked like they could lift a hover truck.
One raised its head as Ezekiel passed. Their eyes met. The deer exhaled hard through its nostrils, then went back to grazing.
Opera's protection was a silent guardian over all new players, unseen but undeniable. Until Level 5, it ensured survival. Attacks from beasts or monsters would deplete HP rapidly, but it would not fall below 1.
To begin with, beasts and monsters wouldn't bother the players, as long as they weren't harassed by these players first.
Of course, none of the players would realize this until the next few hours. They might then come to believe that not dying was part of the game's rules. But such optimism would be shattered once they reach Level 6.
By then, many would come to realize a shocking truth.
The game they trusted to prioritize fairness was nothing short of poison. Because repeated deaths in ReLife didn't just reset progress — they chipped away at one's very soul, until death in the real world would become inevitable.
There was always a price for great power. To ensure the changes in the game could reflect on the real world, a player's soul itself had been taken hostage by Opera.
After nearly half an hour of steady walking, Ezekiel's breath came short. His legs ached. The game's realism was cutting.
He could feel the difference already. He was depleting his HP simply from walking. His muscles were sore, his lungs working harder than they had in weeks.
With a 98% sync, the pain he felt was no less vivid than the real world.
If he knew this would happen, he might have opted for the Crash V2 that capped at 92% synchrony.
Ezekiel shook his head, dismissing the thought as soon as it occured to him. The lower the sync, the more disparity there would be between his avatar and real body.
Not only his reaction speed would be lacking, but his real body also wouldn't be able to take advantage of his in-game physical changes to its full potential.
What's a little more pain if it accelerated his progress?
I should take a break soon, he thought to himself just seconds before he finally saw it: the Reger Tree.
Even in this lush, alien forest, it stood apart.
Standing nearly 2 meters tall, the tree was massive not by its length, but its width. With a girth of nearly 50 meters, Ezekiel felt like he was facing a giant beast. And that wasn't even the Reger tree's most striking feature.
Black roots like petrified veins clawed out from the ground. Its bark was bone white, not smooth, but textured with fractal lines that resembled veins or circuitry. Above, navy-blue leaves shimmered with a subtle glow.
The leaves swayed slightly, almost imperceptibly, yet gave off a feeling of danger.
Ezekiel walked up without hesitation.
Anyone else might have paused, asked a question, maybe tried to observe from a distance. But he reached up, jumped slightly—and attempted to snap off a massive branch laden with the dark leaves.
To an outsider, it would've looked extremely foolish, to try and break off such an enormous branch with bare hands while his Strength Stat was beyond negligible. But unlike what one would expect, the branch came off with no resistance, as if it wanted to be held.
Reger's trap wasn't in its strength.
Its deadliness was its allure.
In any other circumstance, the leaves would have triggered instant heart failure. Their toxin was not a poison, but a spiritual neurotoxin designed to attack a soul signature directly.
But Ezekiel was Level 1. And thus, still under Opera's invisible wings.
The branch was so heavy that he could barely hold it. So he stored it away in his inventory, relieved that the weight of the items placed within wouldn't transfer to his body.
Time to move again, he thought. He had entertained the idea of taking a break, but now that he was close to completing the quest, he didn't want to become careless.
On his way to the Reger tree, he had spotted a wolf cave. Ten minutes of walk was all it would take.
He doubled back, tracing the direction by memory. The terrain was slightly uphill, and by the time he returned to the area, Ezekiel was huffing from shortage of breath.
He leaned over in exhaustiom, supporting his upper body on his knees as he took several minutes to calm his breathing.
Once he felt more steady, he finally raised his gaze to the sight in front of him.
A cave stood like an open maw at the base of a ridge, half-covered by thick vines. Its mouth was gigantic, and Ezekiel was glad he chose one of the bigger branches to bring.
Two wolves had been patrolling earlier, but now, no one guarded the entrance.
He knelt down and picked up stones the size of his fist, wrapping the bottom of his tunic to hold them like a basket. His movements were slow, methodical.
Once he had enough stones, he took out the Reger branch from his inventory. With the leaves facing inwards, he carefully placed the branch right at the mouth of the cave. The white wood and navy leaves shimmered faintly in the fading light.
Then, one by one, he hurled the stones into the cave.
Clack.
Thud.
Snarl.
A loud growl echoed from the cave, then another.
More stones.
One of them hit something soft. A howl erupted.
Ezekiel took several steps back.
Then he saw them.
A blur of grey and silver erupted from the cave — wolves. Sleek, fast, coordinated. Most Level 5, two Level 6. In the beginner zone, these were the apex predators.
There were thirteen of them. The sight of them unleashing their bloodlust simultaneously was enough to leave Ezekiel's heart pounding in his ears.
One mistake, and even Opera might let him die, baffled at his stupidity.
The first three wolves didn't even hesitate. Their paws slammed onto the Reger branch.
Thud— Thud— Thud—
They died mid-step. No dramatic flailing. Just instant stillness. Bodies crumpled, as if a switch had been turned off.
The rest tried to slow down, finally realizing something was wrong, but the stampede was too dense. Their momentum carried them forward.
Each wolf that touched the branch dropped. Some skidded to a halt just shy of the leaves, only to have a paw graze the edge. They, too, fell.
In less than five seconds, thirteen wolves lay dead at the entrance to the cave.
Ding!
{You have killed a Level 5 Wolf!}
{You have killed a Level 5 Wolf!}
...
...
...
{You have killed a Level 6 Alpha Wolf!}
...
{Level difference of 4 Detected!}
{EXP gained increased by 400%!}
{You have gained 14,200 EXP!}
{Level Up! Level 2 Reached!}
{Level Up! Level 3 Reached!}
{Level Up! Level 4 Reached!}