A New Beginning

[ Your connection to your home Universe 12412 is lost ]

[ The connection will be re-routed to the current Universe A144D04 ]

[ Rerouting successful ]

[ Please note, any attempts to return to your home Universe will result in permanent termination of all connections to Universe A144D04 ]

[ Affiliation: Player → NPC ]

[ Error! Affiliation change not possible! ]

[ Reattempting ]

[ Error! Affiliation change not possible! ]

[ A new Affiliation is created ]

[ Affiliation: Player → NPC Player ]

[ Affiliation change successful ]

[ Pain receptors will be recalibrated ]

[ Appearance will be recalibrated ]

[ Synchronization will be recalibrated ]

[ Your Player system will be upgraded to NPC Player system. Time remaining for upgrade completion: 1 year ]

Noah stared at the notifications.

"What does this mean?"

{Do not fret, for it means thou hast perished in thine own Universe. Thou art alive here, for thy soul was present in this realm when thy mortal shell met its end. But if thou attempteth to return, thy soul shall also meet its demise.}

The one to answer was the half-naked man.

He had a sculpted body with bulging muscles and a blonde mustache. His figure wasn't too lean or overly buff, just the correct mass. It was as if he was a Greek God.

His lower half was a cloud of smoke.

"You are?" asked Noah in stupefaction. His current situation was too strange.

{Harumph! As foreseen, a simpleton like thyself lacks any independent thought! I, Hepius, stand before thee in all my grandeur.}

"Whose hip?"

{Insolent wretch! Dost thou dare besmirch my name? Should I grant thee another taste of death for thy audacity?}

"Ahahaha, I was joking."

Noah stared at Hepius with a bright smile. However, his thoughts were not so similar.

'I did choose Hepius' Disciple as my class, but why did I get this old man's ghost too!? What is this, a one-on-one free offer!?'

Noah didn't believe for a moment that he was dead in reality. After all, he was currently playing the game. Did it make sense for his soul to stay alive if he was killed?

"So where are we?" questioned Noah again.

Currently, Noah and Hepius were floating in a void.

Around him transparent people were also floating. They looked like ghosts or souls and had a blank expression, seemingly asleep.

All those souls were moving in several directions while following the rainbow-tiled bridge below them. The bridge split into many paths and its end wasn't visible.

There were also 'special souls'. These souls were wrapped in a golden bubble which was connected with a golden thread.

Those in golden bubbles were being pulled back, contrary to normal ghosts who could only move forward.

Noah was also encased in a golden bubble.

{The souls adorned in golden bubbles, they are like thee, eternal and beyond mortality. As for other departed souls, they may venture towards Hel, Valhalla, or Niflheim. I possess limited knowledge of the nine realms, as I do not hail from there.}

'So you are useless?' Noah held his tongue lest it angered this naked ghost again.

Instead, he asked the important question.

"If everyone is asleep, then why am I awake?"

{About that…}

Hepius stared at the center of Noah's chest. A red glow was assimilating into his soul from the center of his heart.

{Thou art awakening}

Before Noah could question, notifications appeared.

[ You have successfully absorbed 'Awakening Fruit' ]

[ Your Traits are awakening ]

[ 'Genius Psychopath' and 'Directionally Challenged' has awakened ]

PLOP!

Suddenly, Noah's golden bubble burst.

[ You are in Void ]

[ Trait 'Directionally Challenged' will activate ]

"What does… this… me..a..n….."

Noah's eyelids felt incredibly heavy.

Ding!

[ You have been revived ]

"Huh? What happened?"

Noah opened his eyes with a snap.

While he was still standing on the same rainbow-tiled bridge his surroundings were no longer an empty void.

A massive city of gold stood in front of him, and below the bridge was a sea.

A chill ran down Noah's spine. He was suddenly surrounded by dozens of warriors wearing golden-plated armor.

"Hands up, intruder! How did you enter Asgard!"

At that moment, the sky suddenly darkened. A meteor flew out of the golden city and continued toward Noah.

Hepius spoke before Noah could move.

{Thou, impudent brat, I hold contempt for the craven who scurry away without daring to face a fight. Yet, on this occasion, I shall refrain from casting my judgment upon thee.}

{Sigh Alas, why must thou possess such vexing Traits?}

{Steadfast thy heart, young one, for this marks the commencement of thy hell.}

BOOOM!!!

The spear struck Noah and an enormous explosion took place.

[ You have died ]

Noah's mind blanked and cleared in the next instant.

He was back in the void, surrounded by dead souls. However, this time he wasn't in a golden bubble.

"Why didn't I return to Coniferous Forest Town? That town should've been my resurrection pos–"

[ You are in Void ]

[ Trait 'Directionally Challenged' will activate ]

Immense heaviness pushed on Noah's consciousness.

Ding!

[ You have been revived ]

Whoosh!!!

Noah was falling from the sky.

He didn't even have time to organize his thoughts. Intense heat suddenly surged from the sky.

A gigantic red dragon was conjuring a miniature sun over his maws. Behind the dragon, thousand more dragons were flying.

Far below, a human army was standing on the coast. The leader of the human army was floating above the sea. He spoke. "Dragon Slayer Series: Frozen Despair."

The temperature of the world plummeted at an astonishing rate.

As if an ancient beast had exhaled, the sea started to freeze endlessly.

The sea transformed into a vast expanse of eternal ice.

Cracks suddenly appeared over the frozen land and a colossal lance broke through the ground, flying toward the dragon army.

The Dragon fired the miniature sun.

BOOOMM!!!!

A space-shattering explosion took place when the lance met the sun.

The shockwaves struck Noah, who was yet to hit the ground, and all his blood vessels burst. Half of his body was on fire while the other half was frozen.

[ You have died ]

"Haaaaah! Haaah! Haah!"

Opening his eyes, Noah found himself back in the void.

[ You are in Void ]

[ Trait 'Directionally Challenged' will activate ]

"Not… again…" He again fell asleep.

Ding!

[ You have been revived ]

Noah jumped to his feet. This time he was standing in the middle of a forest.

He carefully checked his surroundings. After waiting for a few minutes, nothing attacked him.

A sigh escaped his lips and he collapsed with his back on the tree. "That was intense."

"Looks like I'm being revived in random locations thanks to my trait."

Noah decided to check his trait. But suddenly, he couldn't move.

His body was paralyzed and he fell face-first to the ground.

[ You have been poisoned ]

[ Approximate time for detoxification: 1 minute ]

"Meat… meat… meat…"

Blue humanoid monsters came out through the trunk of the trees. They leaped toward Noah and started grabbing his limbs with a salivating gaze.

[ Approximate time for detoxification: 55 seconds ]

A monster held his right leg and tore it apart. As the smell of blood spread, more monsters appeared. They started tearing Noah's flesh along with his body and eating it.

[ Approximate time for detoxification: 45 seconds ]

Noah screamed in pain till his throat burned. However, the monsters made sure to keep him alive. It was as if his suffering made the meat tastier.

"D–do… it…"

Noah stared at Hepius, who understood his request.

Hepius' arm went through Noah's body and he grabbed his heart. He made sure to end Noah painlessly.

[ You have died ]

Noah was back into the void and the cycle continued.

[ You have been revived ]