Chapter 1: Ashen (1/2)[1/4]

Read Chapter 00 for character img before continuing. I've created illustrations for some characters and will update them as new characters appear.

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The dimly lit room was filled with the hum of the computer and a faint scent from the overworked electronics. Renji sat in his gaming chair, his eyes scanning the dual monitors displaying the vibrant mmorpg. His fingers danced across the keyboard, controlling his character as he explored the lush landscapes of of his empire.

As Renji looked at the screen showing a congrats message with fireworks, he took a deep breath and sighed.

The game he'd just finished was called <<Fallen Chronicles>>

It was a survival game set in an apocalyptic world, Players took on the role of a leader of some area.

The main point of the game is to find teammates, level them up, and build your own base, and face all sorts of disasters, like monsters and corpses.

In this dark and deadly world filled with mutated animals and a poisonous human called Tainted Miasma, the goal was to create a safe place. The game offered tons of choices; its story would change based on what you decided to do. Plus, the graphics and design were top-notch. It seemed perfect in every way, but there was one catch... it was so fu@king hard!

Resources were Limited, Terrifying monsters roamed the wasteland, and thieves hid in the shadows. And that was just the start! The game's unpredictable nature meant constant disasters, making it impossible to use a simple guide to beat it. Every player faced a unique set of challenges and events, so copying another person's strategy rarely worked.

According to official statistics, the number of global players who had completed the game was less than a thousand.

And the number of players who achieved a perfect clearance completing all achievements, collections, and explorations, remained at zero.

'Oh, wait'

'That number should now be "1"'

At the end of the game, there was an additional CG image titled <Family Portrait> which summarizes his strongest Eclipse characters of various professions nurtured by him during the game.

Eclipse was a specific term in Fallen Chronicles.

It refers to people who were affected by the tainted energy and experienced mutations while temporarily retaining their consciousness, like a zombie.

They were classified into five distinct professions based on their mutated abilities.

For players to establish themselves in the game, recruiting and nurturing powerful Eclipse Characters was of utmost importance and served as the core gameplay of the game.

As a qualified straight male, Renji naturally focused on cultivating his wives and aimed for a diverse family.

Therefore, the five female Eclipse in the CG image had distinct styles and came from different races.

The Nun who uses divine and holy skills, [ Sister Suthia ]

The Succubus of Psionic Abilities, [ Lena ]

The Dragon Maiden of Vanguard, [ Nova ]

The Marksman Machine Maid, [ Zero ]

And finally, the Guardian Elf Knight [ Miyuki ] who Renji often yelled, [ Mommy, save me! ]

Among them, some exuded a seductive allure while remaining calm and composed. Others possessed an ethereal purity that could make one dizzy with just a few glances. Some were tsundere and aloof, while others were gentle and reserved.

However, what remained unchanged was their stunning beauty. Their appearances were truly top-notch.

But...

For Renji, their beauty became somewhat faded after seeing them for so long. What truly left an emotional imprint on him was the memories they carried behind them.

In the past, each one of them held a significant position during different phases of his gaming journey.

They were the ones who made Renji wish he could give them the best of everything.

However...

As the game's environment and timeline changed, Renji's requirements for Eclipse shifted, leading them, one by one, to become "Unemployed"

It was as if during the initial phase, "Suthia," the nurturing support who had saved Renji countless times from the brink of death, played a crucial role. But as Renji established a foothold and entered the mid-game, where his influence began to expand, the role of pure support characters like her became very low until Renji put her completely into 'storage'.

Replacing her with powerful physical damage dealers like "Nova" who could secure territories for Renji, and "Zero" the sniper.

However, these two became less effective against lightly armored enemies like "Scavengers" as Renji faced tougher adversaries.

[[[Scavengers = Thieves]]]

They transformed into "Base Defenders" with excellent weapon equipment, combining high defense and attack.

The two physical damage dealers who used to dominate the battlefield now struggled to leave a mark.

Renji had no choice but to put them into 'storage', strip them of their resources, and invest everything into his new characters, namely the Succubus Lena and the elf knight Miyuki.

The former possessed powerful Mind abilities, effortlessly dealing with heavily armored enemies, while the latter's natural magic and shields provided Renji with solid defense and output capabilities, withstanding the enemies' terrifying firepower.

Only after the final wasteland faction was defeated and surrendered did Renji truly achieve the unification of the entire wasteland.

[Ashen Empire]

That was when it was officially established.

By the way, "Ashen" was the ID Renji chose for himself in the game.

After integrating the forces of various races, Renji, as the Emperor of Ashen led his army to reclaim the territories occupied by monsters step by step, declaring war on the source of the wasteland and the root cause of the disaster [ Tainted Miasma ]

However...

Despite becoming immensely powerful and having an abundance of resources far surpassing the initial struggles for survival, Renji found himself lacking the joy he felt at the beginning of the game. The interaction between him and the Eclipses he had raised drastically diminished.

Firstly, as the all-out war with the wasteland monsters began, the role of the army outweighed individual strength.

Secondly, as Renji became very powerful and comprehensive as the "protagonist" he no longer needed to rely on his Eclipses Wives in battle.

Instead, it made more sense to have them work behind the scenes. They used their special skills to make his empire and cities run more smoothly.

Let's Take Suthia, for example:

[Light of Darkness (increases with level): Placing "Suthia" in a "Church" type building provides the city with +20% resistance to Tainted energy and reduces Eclipse's berserk rate by 19%.]

[Divine Heal (increases with level): When "Suthia" is in the backline (not in the combat lineup), the camp's disease and plague occurrence rate is reduced by 40%.]

So putting them in 'storage' didn't mean he was totally giving up on them. Even if they weren't fighting, their special skills were still super useful. Renji kept giving them resources and considered them an important part of his team.