Not In Wiki*
I tried to get closer to the high orc to have a better look at it since it was my first time seeing a monster like that. But the moment I touch it's the body.
Suddenly, the monster's body began to glow with an ominous aura and I could see it slowly disappearing. I could feel a huge amount of magic power released as it disappeared. And the only thing that remains of the high orcs is a tiny orb.
I was a bit shocked at that, as it never happened before. Usually in the game, the defeated monster would simply disappear and leave behind some loot that is mostly weapon or armor.
However, this time it seemed different, as the monster left behind a strange orb. I decide to inspect the orb to see what it is.
When I tried to pick it up, I was greeted by a notification.
'You have obtained 'Lineage Orb (High Orc)' '
'Lineage Orb...' I was a bit confused about the name of the item because I had never seen it before.
I then tried to investigate the item further by using my Identify skill. But sadly it can't be identified, making me wonder what this item is.
'Lineage Orb? What is this?' I tried to think deeply about what this item was and how I could use it.
'Could this item be a special drop from the monster? But still... This is my first time seeing this item, so it's quite confusing.' I was deep in thought for a while.
That was when I noticed a presence approaching me from behind, it was a humanoid monster. It looks exactly like a human, but this time it's wearing armor and holding a sword.
'Another high orc!' At least that is what I assumed it was based on its appearance.
I quickly prepare my magun as I can feel that this high orc is much stronger than the previous one.
'This monster is stronger than the previous one, I have to be careful.'
The figure approached closer, its shape slowly becoming clearer. Eventually, I take out both of my magun from my waist and point them at the approaching silhouette.
But the moment I was about to shoot my magun, I suddenly heard a voice.
'Wait, wait, wait! Don't shoot!!' The monster shouted.
'Eh?' The moment I heard the voice, I immediately lowered my guard.
A woman clad in plated armor appeared to be wearing a scarlet coat. Her slim figure and short orange hair gave her an air of mystery. Pale and lovely, she sported a skirt of delicate armour layered over slender leather leggings. To rephrase, she gives the impression of being a player herself.
She stopped a few steps away and turned to face me, raising a hand in greeting. Then, without any warning whatsoever, she opened her mouth wide.
"There's no need to be hostile, I am here to help you."
Her sudden words surprised me, but I remained cautious as I aimed my maguns at her. As this might be a shapeshifting monster trying to deceive me.
"Who are you? And why are you here?" I ask, trying not to sound suspicious.
"Me? My name is Erina, and part of the adventurer faction. I'm looking for a lineage boss monster, my information says that there might be one around this area."
"A lineage-type monster?" I tilt my head in confusion.
'Does she mean the lineage orb? But still, who is this girl?' I thought.
She then stares at the orb, which I am still holding in my hand.
"Oh! You have a lineage orb in your hand. Is that high orc's lineage orb?" Erina asks.
I nodded and answered, "Yes. This monster dropped an orb after it died. Does lineage orb is a special monster item?"
"Special monster item? Well, you can say that. But why don't you know about this? Have you never encountered a lineage-type monster before?" She asks.
I shook my head.
"Hmm, I see. I think I understand why you are weary of me... To think that someone new was transferred here..." She mumbles while staring at me.
'Transfer?' I thought, wondering what she meant.
"Okay, first thing first. Let's head back to the town as this place ain't safe for conversations." She suggests.
"Town? But I don't see any town nearby." I said, looking around and found nothing except the forest.
"Don't worry about that, I can bring us to the nearest town," Erina said
"Are you sure about that? Because I still have no idea if you are an enemy or not?" I asked, still skeptical about her.
She chuckles.
"Of course I am. Come on, let's go!" She said.
She then held my hand and teleported us away as she popped out something like a teleporter crystal in her hand.
We found ourselves in a completely different place in the blink of an eye. There is a town in front of me, it's a medieval-looking town.
"W-where are we?" I asked, bewildered.
"Welcome to the Out of Boundary City. This is where all the deleted character players reside." Erina answers.
I never heard about this city before. Not even in the official game wiki or the forums… and it's quite confusing. I can't believe this at all.
"Deleted characters?" I tilt my head in confusion.
"Yup, just like you. You were also a deleted character, right?" She asked.
"Huh?" I was dumbfounded by her answer, it was the last thing I expected.
'Deleted character... Am I a deleted player character?'
"I mean surely you are one because how else you would be here if you weren't deleted?" Erina said.
"But how can I get deleted?" I said that out loud. Because I know for a fact that I didn't die yet in the game. This means my character data shouldn't be deleted, even if I did die because of the glitch. I would have already been logged out from the game, instead of being here.
'No, wait... Could it be... Did I die and get isekai? No, it can't be. If so, I would have been woken up back into my original world, and not in the game world.'
There's a lot of thought running through my head, I try to come up with a reason as to why I'm here. But all of that was interrupted by Erina.
"Okay, let's go! We have a lot to discuss." Erina said as she began dragging me into the city.
'What the heck is going on? This is way too confusing!' I thought.
As we walked through the city, I realized that it was packed with people. Despite being a place which I had never been before, I didn't expect it to be so lively, with many people walking about and doing their business.
And while we're still walking, "H-hey, Erina... What is this place? Like actually this place is." I asked.
"This? Well, this is where all the deleted character players reside. In the simplest terms, it means the place where people who died while playing games are sent. Not the player itself but just the character that the original player created. And that character who died and was deleted, get to be transferred here is known as 'deleted characters'."
"So you are saying that this place is a special kind of game world?" I ask.
"Exactly." She nods.
"You could say so, as for some reason. We began to have a conscious while being transferred here. Which makes us, 'deleted characters' who are aware that we are a game character. We are not allowed to interact with the main world, so this is our home now."
"Home?" I tilt my head.
"Yup. You will see it for yourself. This city is our home." Erina smiles at me.
I didn't say anything else and just followed Erina.
After thinking about it for a few moments, I decided that this was probably true based on my current situation. Like I have heard about something similar to this some asset that has been deleted isn't deleted, rather it just goes somewhere else.
But still, all of this is completely unheard of, and I never knew that it would happen to me.
It makes me think whether the developer of this game knows about all of this stuff or not. But my guesses said that they are probably aware of this development.
Even if what I am guessing was true, I still have no idea why the heck I was in this place. Like if what Erina said was the real deal. It is supposed to be only the character player that had died in the game. So certainly shouldn't happen to me.
"Well, anyway, let's head to the Adventurer Faction building. As we are about to talk about the most important thing, which is your lineage orb." Erina said.
"Oh, and what is this lineage orb? It's not the first time you mentioned it."
"I'll explain later. So don't worry about it." She said.