Chapter 187: Glitch in the Matrix

As Kaisen watched, his friends began to wake up, coughing and stirring from their enchanted slumber. Sable was the first to come to, followed by Maximus, who blinked groggily. Lloyd, Alice, and Elfie woke up in quick succession after that.

Kaisen quickly filled them in on the events that had transpired while they were out, though he conveniently left out the part where he had tamed the boss by, well, engaging in some rather unconventional diplomacy.

He also omitted the fact that he hadn't killed the boss but had "defeated" her in another way, figuring there was no need to dive into those details just yet.

A small skirmish broke out between Maximus and Lloyd, as Lloyd suddenly remembered why he had been knocked out in the first place. After some explanation, Kaisen confirmed that Maximus was now safe and no longer a threat, a fact Lloyd reluctantly accepted with a nod.

Sable, still salty about something with her fiancé, gave him a few playful smacks on the head, though her expression suggested she was only half-joking.

Elfie didn't say much, looking exhausted and clearly just wanting to lie down and get some proper rest.

Alice, meanwhile, had made herself comfortable by leaning into Kaisen's chest, an action that drew a furrowed brow from Lloyd. The others, however, seemed to ignore this, focusing instead on their own thoughts and the aftermath of the strange encounter.

In all, the group was excited to finally leave this godforsaken place and get some much-needed rest.

But before they could fully relax, they had an obligation to bring the ex-Night Shades turned adventurers to safety. Those poor souls had been taken advantage of greatly, and the group felt a responsibility to help them.

They were optimistic, hoping that the thousands of people would at least be conscious now that the main boss had been "defeated."

Amidst their discussions, Kaisen decided it was time to level up. There was no point in holding onto all those heavy lust points without using them.

'Since the first arc is over, I'm sure there won't be any major villains for a while,'

he thought.

This was true; with the first arc complete, the next main villain wouldn't appear until he'd had some interaction with NPCs or picked up a new quest. He couldn't just go off and challenge the Sol Knights or whatever they were called without even knowing where they were.

As Kaisen considered his next moves, the rest of the group began to make plans for their next steps.

Hopefully, Aveline knows something useful. Kaisen hoped she wasn't just a pretty face with a killer body. He decided to take some rest at the Queen's palace and sort out the mess with Esmeralda.

Hopefully, he's now stronger than that bitch of a Queen who basically sucked his life force like a vampire on a bender.

'I can't wait to pound that milf bitch."

He thought, smirking at the idea of fucking her right in front of the audience that ogled her like hungry wolves. The thought made him giddy with anticipation.

Kaisen was optimistic. At level 1440, he was arguably the strongest being in this area, even outclassing Aveline, who was a main boss. There was no way in hell Queen Roslyn was as powerful as Vhalla. And he was about to level up even more, which would increase his power drastically.

'Man, I can't wait to sink my hands into that bitch's fluffy breasts and grab those juicy ass cheeks,'

he thought, a sinister smile creeping across his lips.

'System, level the fuck up!'

"Listen carefully, alright? Leave this place and warn the Queen that the Sol Knights are readying for an invasion. Tell her to take whatever necessary precautions to ensure everyone survives."

Kaisen instructed, placing a reassuring hand on Maximus's shoulder. The knight's eyes quivered, sensing the gravity of the situation. Kaisen had never been this urgent, even when the odds were against them.

"Wh-what's happening? You're worrying me, Kaisen-kun?"

Sable clung to his arm, her voice trembling. She was visibly shaken, and Kaisen could see the worry etched on her face.

Ever since Kaisen had entered her life, everything had changed. She had gone from being diligent and responsible to just coasting along, enjoying the benefits of being with him. Pleasing him had become her main focus, with Kaisen handling all the heavy lifting.

But now, seeing him giving serious instructions to Maximus, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong.

"Don't worry about it, Sable. Just do as I say. Get stronger and protect your loved ones. That's all that matters."

Kaisen tried to reassure her, but his voice cracked with tension. Suddenly, his voice glitched, like a TV signal gone bad, and he froze.

His mind was suddenly bombarded with streams of numbers and letters on a green background, accompanied by a series of ominous messages.

[World rebuilding process started...]

[Anomaly found!]

[World rebuilding process underway...]

[Solution found!]

Kaisen felt like he was in a sci-fi nightmare. The system was reacting to him, the anomaly, the glitch in the game that was throwing everything off balance. His mind raced as he tried to comprehend the implications of these messages.

This wasn't just about leveling up or fucking around anymore; this was about the entire world he was in being recalibrated because of his actions.

Meanwhile, Kaisen's eyes widened as he saw eerie green vertical lines forming on his friends' bodies, small numbers and alphabets dancing around the glowing cylinders. The lines traced their hands, heads, legs, and rapidly multiplied with each passing second.

Kaisen glanced down at his own hands, and sure enough, the same glowing script was crawling up his arms.

The two knights screamed, their voices garbled like static. Kaisen watched in horror as Lloyd reached out to Elfie, and Alice extended a trembling hand towards him, their limbs disintegrating into green light and dust.

In a last-ditch effort to give Alice some comfort, Kaisen reached out to her, but before their hands could touch, his arm disintegrated into particles of green light.

Just before his entire body disintegrated, a final system message appeared, causing a smile to spread across his face:

[Solution found! Returning players to their world]

***

[End of Volume One: The New Beginning]

[Volume Two: Emperor of Gold, will start tomorrow]