Chapter 212: Beastmen?

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Kaisen took a deep breath, hands on his hips, grinning like he'd just won the world's stupidest lottery.

It felt like he hadn't been to this world in a decade, but really, it had been what—24 hours?

Still, that didn't stop him from acting like a complete buffoon, smiling at the barren wasteland like it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

"Damn, should've said goodbye to Kara."

He muttered to himself, though he knew he had plenty of time to deal with that later. After all, he wasn't planning on going anywhere soon—unless this place decided to kill him first.

"But where the hell am I, anyway?" '

Kaisen looked around, half-expecting to see the lush, green forests of the Evershade Kingdom.

Instead, he was greeted by a desolate landscape that looked like the set of a post-apocalyptic movie—minus the cool mutants. Jagged rocks, cliffs barely taller than a toddler, and mountains that seemed to mock him from the horizon.

It was like someone had forgotten to water this place for centuries.

"Man, this place looks like the land of the dead."

Kaisen mumbled, scratching his chin as if trying to figure out if he'd accidentally stumbled into a zombie movie set. There was a good chance he'd warped into a completely different place, and that could be a real clusterfuck.

"Why am I getting so worried? I'm the strongest player here, right? ...Right?"

He tried to reassure himself, though he knew full well that being the strongest player didn't exactly make him the strongest creature.

At least he was the strongest in the first region, which, ironically, had led to him and millions of his people being booted out of that game world.

"Wait, no, this isn't a game world anymore. This is a real, actual world where I'm just transported into."

Kaisen corrected himself, as if he were talking to his reflection in a funhouse mirror. After all, that was the truth, right? He was here because of a small VR headset that had somehow turned his life into an interdimensional rollercoaster.

Where did the headset come from? How does it work? Kaisen had no clue, and honestly, he didn't give a damn. All he wanted was to have fun and live the good life.

Despite the world-ending problems he seemed to be facing, he had this bizarre, almost childlike belief that this world might just offer him the happiness he was craving.

Maybe it was the endless possibilities of magic that were making him think this way. Back in his old world, he was basically a loser who couldn't win a game of hopscotch.

But here... here, he felt like he'd been given a golden ticket to the universe's most exclusive club.

And it was true. In this new world, he had no limitations. It was like he'd been given a cheat code for life, making him stronger as if the universe itself had been tailor-made for someone just like him.

Suddenly, Kaisen's thoughts drifted to Kayden and the new cheat he'd received, which seemed like it was custom-made for that world.

Then, a few meters away from Alice's cloud-covered hideout was another dot labeled Elfie.

"Wh-when did she get added? There wasn't even a prompt for her to join the prey list!"

It was true. This sudden surge of new dots had popped up without any warning, but Kaisen wasn't about to complain. It meant Elfie was one step closer to being his, and that was a win in his book.

Then, over in Evershade Kingdom, two dots appeared. Both were nestled in the Queen's palace. One was blue, the other green.

The names below the dots read Sable and Maximus. Of course, blue was Sable and the sole green was Maximus.

"Wait a minute, is that what I think it is?"

Kaisen muttered, his curiosity piqued like a cat eyeing a laser pointer. He mentally clicked on the green dot, and—voila—a tab suddenly popped up like an overzealous pop-up ad.

The tab revealed a list of details that made Kaisen blink twice.

[Cuck List]

[Maximus]

[Status: Extreme Courageous]

Kaisen's lips stretched into a smirk as he read the name. This was pure gold. It seemed the cuck list tab had finally shown up, and not only could he see Maximus's position and emotional status, but he also felt like he was holding a VIP pass to a comedy show.

"Maybe Lloyd must be hanging out with Alice and Elfie. Now, where the hell am I?"

He glanced at the map and saw his own red dot. He was practically on the border of Evershade Kingdom and whatever mystery kingdom lay beyond it. He was just a few steps away from strolling into Evershade, but for some reason, he hadn't spawned there in the first place.

"Well, no time to dwell on that. Gotta get to Alice and see what kind of shenanigans they're up to."

He muttered, rolling up the mind map in his mind like it was a piece of ancient scroll.

As he was about to set off, a sudden thought struck him like a ton of bricks. He remembered something he'd shoved into the back of his pants from his old world. Panicking, he patted his pants like he was searching for loose change. It wasn't there.

Without missing a beat, he thought about his inventory, and with a flourish of dramatic flair, an inventory screen unfurled before him.

And only then did he let out a dramatic sigh. There it was in his inventory: the Mask of Mischief, the Eclipse Shard he'd snagged from defeating Aveline, and his trusty weapon, Long Claw.

"Damn, you nearly gave me a heart attack—"

Snap~

The sudden sound of a dried up twig snapping behind him made Kaisen jump like he'd just seen a ghost. Instinctively, he triggered the Veil of Shadows skill, vanishing from sight like a magician's assistant who'd disappeared into thin air.

"Told you, there wasn't anyone here at all. You must be inhaling some bird poop, idiot," a young woman's voice rang out behind him with the confidence of someone who just won an argument.

"But I swear, Oneesaan, there was a faint smell of human here!" came a little boy's voice, echoing from somewhere below the young woman's.

Kaisen peeked cautiously and saw the duo who had arrived with the nose of a bloodhound. They weren't just any duo—they had cat ears and tails attached to what looked like perfectly human bodies.

'Beastmen!!'