For advance/early chapters : p atreon.com/AutumnXd
Ryan looked at Stan. "Is that something you also saw on the Forum?"
Stan nodded. "Yeah, I've been telling you for ages to check the Forum more often when you have free time. There are lots of game guides there."
Ryan squinted. "So, did you beat the games after reading those guides?"
Stan thought for a moment before replying. "I beat a few. I finished Elemental Contra, Super Mario, and Tank Battle. I only managed to clear those three after reading guides on the Forum." He grinned. "You know, it turns out Super Mario has level skips."
"Huh? Is that true?" Ryan's eyebrows shot up. "Well, it looks like I should check the Forum too. But won't it get boring beating games with other people's guides?"
"After all, it still relies on your own skill. Just throwing lives at it is too unskilled."
"Oh, that's true..." Ryan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Now that the opera's over, what are you planning to do?" Stan asked.
"What else? Go home and play games!" Ryan laughed. "I also want to beat a game with my own skill... Stan, which game do you think is easier?"
"Uh, well, actually, I think Dragonspire New Century might be easier to beat..."
"Huh? It's really hard! I can't beat the fourth level no matter what..."
The two gradually walked further away, their voices fading into the evening crowd.
At the same time, backstage inside the White Rose Opera House, in the resting area for the Saint Mary Opera Troupe, several people were also discussing the music.
"Great Master Burton, I still think it would be better if we used Guile's music for the duel of the two Great Sword Saints in the fourth act."
The older man sighed. "Wesley, Ken's music is just as perfect. You can tell by the audience's reaction—many of them are familiar faces. They've seen our play more than once or twice, but this time they clearly enjoyed it even more. This is all thanks to our change in background music." He stroked his beard. "Although our previous piece was Great Master Chapman's work, we all felt that the duel music was a bit too conventional. Now, using Ken's music has a significantly better effect."
"Great Master Burton, you clearly also thought before that Guile's background music was more suitable to be adapted into the background music for the fourth act duel."
"Can't I change my mind later if I find it unsuitable?"
Wesley's jaw tightened. "No, Great Master Burton, it must be because... Great Master, you always taught me that art has no boundaries."
A shadow passed over Burton's face. "Wesley, of course I know that. But you must understand—even though everyone says art has no boundaries, you and I both know that it's impossible..." He lowered his voice. "This was specifically instructed by the Troupe Leader and the City Lord of Angel City. You and I are powerless to change it."
Wesley fell silent. The unspoken truth hung between them: Ken was from the Lion Kingdom. Guile was from the Shadow Reach Empire. And here in Angel City, political considerations trumped artistic ones.
"Alright, Wesley, stop dwelling on this." Burton's tone softened. "Our performance this time was already perfect, wasn't it? Relax. Later, I'll play a few more rounds of games with you."
"Great Master Burton..." Wesley exhaled heavily. "Sigh, alright."
"What was the Illusionist's reply when you told him we wanted to use the music from his illusion game?"
"What reply could there be? Strictly speaking, he didn't compose this music. After interacting with him, I found that he doesn't understand music at all."
Burton nodded slowly. "Even if the music comes from another dimension, we still must respect this Illusionist. He is the one who brought these pieces to this world."
"Since they're all songs from another dimension, why do we still need to differentiate by character background..." Wesley caught himself and sighed. "Alright, alright, Great Master Burton. That Illusionist indeed had no objections. He said we could use the music from the game as much as we wanted, but if it was convenient, he asked us to help promote his game and the console he makes."
"No problem. We'll add the game's name to the music promotions from now on..."
Moonwatch Empire, Needlewood Province, Eastern Needlewood Mountains.
A rock pig the size of a small truck charged through the forest, its thick stone armor scraping against tree trunks as it plowed a desperate path through the undergrowth. Blood streamed from a dozen wounds. Its eyes were wild with fear.
It was fleeing for its life.
A burst of crimson fire erupted directly in its path.
Cassius stood waiting, his flame greatsword held high—a blade as wide as a door panel, wreathed in hungry flames. The rock pig had no room to dodge. No time to turn.
Yellow light flashed in the beast's eyes. Its stone armor detached and flew forward, forming a makeshift shield.
The greatsword crashed through it like it was nothing.
Stone shattered. The blade bit deep into the rock pig's skull, carving a wound down to the bone. The creature squealed—a sound like grinding boulders—but kept moving, kept fighting.
Behind it, Victor pursued. His Red Rock Sword burned with white flames as he drove it between the gaps in the rock pig's ribs. He twisted the blade—up, down, wrenching through muscle and organ—then released the hilt and vaulted onto the creature's massive head.
Both palms pressed against its skull.
White flames surged.
The rock pig's mournful cry echoed through the forest as it collapsed, legs twitching uncontrollably. Through dimming eyes, it saw the human with the crimson greatsword raise his weapon for the killing blow. Desperate, it gathered the last of its magic. Mud flew up from beneath, solidifying into a stone slab to protect its neck.
Bang!
The slab shattered.
Cassius struck again. The greatsword bit into the rock pig's neck but was stopped by its cervical vertebrae—bones thick as bridge cables.
He struck twice more.
The head finally separated from the body. Bright red blood gushed out, pooling beneath the massive corpse.
"This rock pig's life force is truly tenacious," Victor said, pulling his Red Rock Sword free with a wet sucking sound. "Its strength should be mid-tier Fourth Circle, right?"
"Roughly." Cassius didn't bother wiping the blood from his face. He knelt beside the carcass and dug into its skull, extracting a magic core the size of a child's fist. A quick rinse with water magic, and it disappeared into his storage space. Then he cleaned himself properly.
At that moment, Caelan and the other two finally caught up.
Nicole held a specially crafted wooden cage in each hand. Inside each cage, two small creatures huddled together—blue and yellow fur, large ears, twitching whiskers. They looked like oversized hamsters, if hamsters crackled with faint electrical sparks.
Lightning Rats.
Their name came from two things: their ability to channel lightning magic, and their speed. "Fast as lightning" was an exaggeration, of course. If they were truly that fast, they wouldn't have been caught.
But they were quick enough to be a challenge.
Lightning Rats had docile personalities and high intelligence, making them easy to tame. Once bonded with an owner, they made excellent pets—or could be trained for racing, a popular sport among the nobility. However, like most Demonic Beasts, the offspring of tamed Lightning Rats grew progressively weaker, often losing their lightning abilities entirely. Only wild-caught specimens held real value.
The adventure team hadn't caught these for a mission.
Victor wanted to give them to his sister for her birthday.
Caelan looked at the rock pig carcass and pulled out a sharp dagger. He stepped forward and carefully cut off the tips of both ears—face-sized patches of flesh that were the only parts soft enough to chew. The rest of the creature was essentially armor plating.
Might as well make something good out of this, he thought. Rock pig ear tips, properly prepared, were supposed to be a delicacy.
"Alright," Cassius said, surveying the group. "Let's continue the lunch that this rock pig so rudely interrupted."
Five days of searching.
That's how long it had taken to find a Lightning Rat nest. After much effort with traps and careful positioning, they'd managed to catch four. The rest had escaped in a blur of sparking fur.
The plan had been simple: catch the Lightning Rats, eat lunch, return to Needlewood Town.
The rock pig had other ideas.
The aroma of roasting meat had apparently been too enticing. The beast had charged straight into their camp, ignoring their attacks entirely, and snatched the meat right off the spit. Priscilla, who'd been in charge of the grilling, had nearly fainted from shock.
The group's collective response had been immediate and unanimous.
You ate our food. Now we eat you.
And so Cassius and Victor had taught the rock pig how to be a harmless pig.
Dead, it was naturally harmless.
Now Caelan found the right spot on the carcass—comparing it with memories from his previous life—and cut out the best tenderloin. Plenty for all five of them.
They fell back into their routine. Cassius, Victor, and Nicole stood watch around the perimeter. Caelan turned the meat on the new spit. Priscilla controlled the heat, her fire magic keeping the flames at a perfect steady temperature.
The smell was incredible. Rich, savory, with a hint of char.
Finally, it was ready.
Everyone grabbed a piece, mouths watering, ready to feast—
The ground shook.
Violently.
The earth beneath their feet trembled like a living thing. Surrounding trees rustled and swayed, shedding leaves in cascading waves. Somewhere in the distance, birds took flight in panicked clouds.
And then, as suddenly as it began, everything went still.