Chapter 2 - The Beginning of Chaos

Amid the rows of bustling festival stalls stood Mizuhara Kaito,a man known as Ren’s right-hand in management. Today, his task was to oversee the festival in Japan, making sure everything ran smoothly without the slightest disturbance.

Kaito glanced left and right, his sharp eyes scanning the crowd.

“Looks like there’s nothing to worry about today…” he murmured.

“Hmm… maybe I should just enjoy the festival."

"Hopefully nothing like last year happens again.”

With an unhurried pace, he began walking through the festival lanes, his dark cloak swaying with each step. His gaze occasionally paused to observe the goods displayed at various stalls.

Until his eyes caught sight of something different,a stall selling books. Intriguingly, these books were written by the players of the game themselves.

Kaito approached, pulling his hood back slightly, and asked curtly:

“What are these books?”

The stall owner, a middle-aged man with a welcoming smile, replied:

“Welcome."

"You’re asking about these books?"

"They’re simply popular titles written by the players of this game.”

Kaito narrowed his eyes, examining each book cover laid out on the table.

“Books written by the players? And what exactly are they about?”

The vendor chuckled softly before explaining:

“Some talk about the monsters in this game and hmm…”

“The contents of every dungeon they’ve cleared."

"There are also personal stories,meeting the love of their life here, or fulfilling dreams they could never achieve in the real world.”

Kaito’s eyes were drawn to a book with a black cover. On it, a faint image could be seen,a hooded figure with a sword at their waist, standing under dim light. He raised an eyebrow and asked:

“What’s this book about?”

He pointed at the book. The vendor picked it up, glanced at the cover, and replied:

“Ah, this one.”

“If I’m not mistaken, it tells the story of last year"

"When someone disrupted the festival.”

Kaito’s expression shifted, his gaze sharpening.

“Last year, huh?"

"Be careful selling books written by players in this game.”

The vendor chuckled softly.

“I know."

"Besides, I only sell popular titles,ones written by the players themselves.”

Kaito held the man’s gaze for a moment before turning away, leaving the stall behind.

Kaito kept walking, passing through rows of festival stalls that had begun to quiet down. His steps eventually brought him to the kingdom’s main gate,sealed shut for the night.

Suddenly, a blinding light burst from beyond the kingdom walls, cutting through the darkness.

Kaito’s face tensed, his eyes widening.

“What is that light…?”

Without hesitation, he activated his flight magic. His body shot upward, landing atop the towering stone wall.

The moment his eyes found the source, his gaze sharpened. Below, intricately carved magic circles stretched across the ground along the entire length of the wall, from one end to the other, glowing with a rhythmic pulse.

“What the hell is this?”

Meanwhile, back at the bar, Ren sat quietly, lost in thought about the next update for his game. His gaze was fixed on the table as ideas turned in his mind.

"What kind of event would work next?" he wondered.

Beside him, Hiyori rubbed her eyes, her eyelids growing heavy. She let out a small yawn before saying:

“I think I’ll call it a night.”

Ren, Rikuya, and Amano all glanced in her direction.

“My eyes can’t fight off this sleepiness any longer,” Hiyori added.

Rikuya chuckled at her words and teased:

“Then just log out of the game first, Hiyori.”

Ren smiled faintly, replying in a gentle tone:

“If you’re tired, go ahead and sleep. We’ll probably log out not long after you.”

Amano, already half drunk, lazily waved his hand and muttered:

“Go if you want to go.”

Hiyori, still rubbing her eyes, nodded slowly.

“Alright… I’ll go first, then.”

She pulled up her menu screen to log out of the game, her fingers scrolling for the settings button. But her brow quickly furrowed.

“The settings button… it’s gone?”

Her words made Ren, Rikuya, and Amano turn to her at once, their expressions shifting to seriousness.

Ren opened his own menu, a faint smirk on his lips as if to tease her.

“Looks like you really are sleepy, Hiyori. The settings button to log out is right...”

His words cut off, his face now equally tense.

“…It’s gone?”

Rikuya and Amano immediately brought up their own menus.

Rikuya’s eyes widened in shock.

“What’s going on?"

"Why is the settings button missing?”

Amano tapped his finger against the table, his tone turning irritated.

“What the hell is this?"

"Who removed the settings button?”

The ground beneath their feet suddenly trembled, followed by a deafening crash that shook the air.

Hiyori, who had been half-asleep moments ago, now snapped her eyes wide open.

“W-what’s happening?”

A loud commotion erupted outside. They exchanged quick glances before rushing out of the bar to see for themselves.

What awaited them made their breaths hitch,monsters of impossible rank had appeared in the middle of the festival.

Ren stared in disbelief.

“What… are those monsters doing here?”

Without another word, Rikuya pushed through the panicked crowd fleeing from the beasts. Seeing him move, the other three quickly followed.

Amano, running with a slight stagger, shouted over the chaos:

“How the hell could monsters of that rank appear inside the kingdom,let alone impossible-rank ones?!”

Hiyori kept her gaze locked on the horde.

“Someone must have brought them here.”

Ren frowned deeply, his voice filled with confusion.

“How could anyone bring this many monsters here?”

After pushing through the crowd, they reached an eerily quiet area and froze at the sight before them.

Blood was splattered everywhere. Lifeless bodies lay strewn across the stone-paved streets. The metallic scent hung heavy in the air.

Ren stared, his face pale, his voice trembling.

“Th-the bodies… they’re not disappearing…?"

"The game’s system should make the dead vanish instantly.”

Rikuya turned to him, his expression grim.

“It’s not just that, Ren...”

“Why is there so much blood here? We never implemented a feature like this.”

Suddenly, a body was hurled violently toward them, tumbling across the ground.

They instantly recognized who it was,Kaito.

Hiyori’s expression shifted sharply as she saw Kaito’s body covered in severe wounds. What shocked her even more was that the injuries looked real, not artificial effects created by the game’s system.

“K-Kaito…?”

Hiyori rushed forward, carefully lifting Kaito into her arms.

Kaito, breathing heavily and wincing in pain, forced his words out.

“Th-they appeared out of nowhere…”

“A light suddenly shone from beyond the kingdom’s walls…”

“W-when I checked… there were magic circles on the ground… covering the entire area in front of the kingdom walls.”