After the battle had ended and the battlefield lay silent, Alex took a deep breath, surveying the carnage left behind.
Bodies of players from the Overlord Guild had all disappeared, back to reality, their attempts to ambush him utterly futile.
But just as he was about to turn to Alice, ready to leave, a new notification flashed in front of him.
Ding!
[The Undead King has initiated the "Resurrection" process.]
His eyes widened slightly, though not out of surprise.
He had expected this.
Of course, the Undead King wouldn't stay down for long, secret bosses like that never did.
He glanced at Alice, who was busy looking through the loot they had gathered from the battle.
"We should leave," Alex said, his voice calm.
Alice looked up, confused, "Why? Isn't the boss dead?"
"For now," he muttered, his mind already elsewhere. "But it'll come back. There's a resurrection process for the Undead King, after around one week it's coming back."
This would mean that it would come back exactly one day before the attack on Alice and the Stardust Estate.
"Oh... then let's head out," Alice nodded, trusting his judgment.
With that, the two logged out of the game, the virtual world around them dissolving into nothingness.
They opened their eyes to the real world, the familiar comfort of the stardust estate mansion returning to their senses.
The night was calm, and Alex leaned back in his bed, stretching his arms.
He knew they had to be up early the next day, and there wasn't much left to do now in the game besides leveling up and waiting for the rankings to open.
And with the looming move to their villa, it was best to get some rest.
He slept like a baby that night, the bed extremely comfortable.
...
But the next morning, while he got up and headed toward the bedroom, a soft knock on the door interrupted him.
A servant entered quietly, bowing respectfully.
"Sir, the villa has been fully prepared as you requested."
Alex nodded. "Thank you."
The servant left as quickly as he arrived, and Alex made his way to the living room, where he found Alice and Richard already waiting for him.
"Everything is set," Richard, announced.
"Great!" Alice beamed. "I can't wait to see the new place."
Alex smiled too, but there was an edge to his expression, as if the idea of the move unsettled him just a bit.
Still, he kept his thoughts to himself.
When they returned to the villa, the sun had already set, and the night was peaceful once more.
They fell into bed together, exhausted from the day but happy.
Alex couldn't remember the last time he felt so at ease with everything that happened in his previous life.
Morning came quicker than either of them expected.
"Hm..." Alice stirred in her sleep, her face buried in the pillow.
"Wake up, Alice," Alex said gently, shaking her shoulder, "We need to log into the game."
She groaned, pulling the blanket over her head, "Already...?"
Alex smiles "Yep. The rankings unlock today, remember?"
That got her attention.
Alice sat up, rubbing her eyes and nodding groggily. "O-Okay... I'm up."
The two of them immediately got up and activated the bracelets around their wrists.
They sat down, and with a flash of light, they were teleported into the game world.
[Do you wish to enter the game?]
"Yes!"
Fwish! Ding!
...
They appeared outside of Dawn City, but immediately made their way inside.
The city was massive, bustling with activity as millions of players gathered in anticipation of the ranking opening.
The atmosphere was electric, everyone excited for what was to come.
Above the city, a massive countdown timer floated in the sky.
4 minutes remaining.
Alex looked around, spotting several familiar faces in the crowd.
There were players from all over the world, some who had already made names for themselves, and others who were just starting to rise through the ranks.
Everyone was here for the same reason—the novice village assessment had come to an end, and now the true test was about to begin.
"Looks like we're just in time," Alex said, glancing at Alice beside him.
She nodded, her eyes scanning the crowd, "Yeah... This is going to be huge."
The timer continued to tick down, the tension in the air rising with each passing second.
This was it.
The end of the novice phase.
The opening of the rankings.
And the beginning of the first major event.