Despite this first positive news, the death toll from the Ordeal was staggering. In just twelve days, over a million Players had experienced physical demise at least once on both sides. Approximately a quarter of them had been utterly vanquished, their consciousnesses either obliterated by the Soulsearch or permanently extinguished post-confession.
Among those seized by the Soulmancers and Lifemancers, very few had managed to talk their way out of their predicament. With their Space Storage sealed and their powers bound, any justification would come across as deceit.
Yet, that didn't mean escape was impossible. As long as they wore their bracelets and had their Oracle Paths, Players were never truly cornered. As long as higher-ranked Players didn't intervene with their foresight, they could trust their Oracle's guidance.
Just as three million Rank 8 Players materialized, the Myrtharian Nerds made their debut. Among all members, they were the lowest-ranked of the faction, having performed most lacklusterly.
However, this didn't imply weakness. The mere existence of their Cosmic D Starfeyrves Passive and the low-grade Energy Body they had self-funded hinted at their variance from the general Evolver populace.
In a hastily erected camp at the boundary between the Duskwight Lands and Lustra Plains, a young woman's eyes snapped open. Her first sight: a tent of beast hide and belongings of fellow warriors.
She was a breathtaking vision, slender and lithe, with just the right touch of femininity to capture hearts. Like many Myrtharian Nerds, her ethnicity and origins had faded in importance. After being blessed with the Cosmic D Starfeyrves Body, her skin took on a translucent pallor, her eyes a dance of black and silver with fleeting hints of blue, and her hair a silken cascade of darkness.
What she retained from her younger days was her medium-length hair, slightly above the shoulders, and an expression blending kindness with innocence. Yet, compared to her past self, her face now lacked its naive carefreeness, replaced by a deeply focused seriousness.
This was none other than Lily Wilderth, the cherished daughter of Daniel Wilderth, and the object of Tim Paradis's affections.
Upon her arrival in the Mirror Universe years ago, she was but a child. But after the loss of her mother to the Digestors, surviving her accelerated maturation during her first Ordeal, participating in the next three, and aging another four years, she was on the brink of turning eighteen.
Yet, like many Evolvers, she'd long stopped counting days until birthdays. Survival was all that mattered.
Her only insecurity? Her embarrassingly low Rank 8 of First Sergeant. Not only did it make her one of the least ranked in her faction, but she'd already reached Rank 8 before her fourth Ordeal. She'd simply failed to secure the necessary 200 rating points for her promotion.
The Ordeal on Quanoth had been exceedingly tough, especially toward the end. Like many of her comrades, she hadn't passed the surprise test posed by Lost Divinities but had since labored relentlessly to awaken her True Will. She didn't want to burden her father or teammates, nor did she want to be seen as a delicate flower in need of protection.
The moment Lily's eyes opened, before coherent thought formed, a crushing weight pressed upon her, threatening to squash her like a bug. Immediately, her muscles tensed, veins bulged, her heart raced, and despite the ominous creaking from her bones, she held her ground.
Yet, she felt she wouldn't withstand such immense pressure for long. The gravitational force even hindered her ability to speak, breathe, or move. While her life wasn't in immediate danger, if she remained paralyzed, complications would soon pile up. The first challenge? Explaining her crippling paralysis and vulnerability to the fellow soldiers sharing her tent.
Her first instinct was to cast a Reinforcement Spell on herself. Yet, her eyes went wide in shock as she realized the Aether, even the essence supposed to be generated by her own body, was unresponsive. Her Mana Core was equally uncooperative. It felt as if invisible chains had shackled her thoughts, trapping her consciousness within her skull.
"Damn! I'm screwed."
But just as she felt vulnerable, exposed for any native barbarian sharing her shelter to notice her odd state, the adaptive power of her Cosmic D Starfeyrves Body kicked in.
Anchored in her Vitality attribute, her skeleton reformed on-the-fly to counteract the gravity, her bones taking on a crystalline sheen, hard as diamond. They became like water-filled rubber balloons: somewhat pliable but damn hard to pop.
Her muscles, organs, lungs, and circulatory system, which seemed lagging, surged forward. When she scanned her stats, not only did her Body Strength and Constitution skyrocket, but every cell in her was restructuring for peak efficiency. Once the transformation halted, her stats were still climbing, albeit slower than on planet B842, which roused her suspicions.
Her muscles, even her skin, had now adapted to the planet's heightened gravity. Her delicate appearance faded, her figure now echoing the Underworld Barbarians native to this region.
When she finally felt up to moving, albeit with some difficulty, she peered out of the tent. After a quick scan of the various armored, mismatched Underworld Barbarians bustling around her, her skin tone, hair, and the shape of her ears, lips, and nose adjusted. She even grew a few inches, her bones subtly stretching.
Now, she was the spitting image of a native Underworld Barbarian female. Her camouflage was so on point that distinguishing her from the natives had become near impossible. Even her aura had shifted.
"This Cosmic D Starfeyrves Body rocks. Our leader truly hit the jackpot," Lily mused inwardly, struggling to mask the envy on her face. "Still, it was faster than I thought. Maybe it has something to do with what happens to Aether in this world."
In contrast, her own bloodline, the Light Fairy, seemed rather vanilla, granting her just a decent affinity with Mana and a knack for Light and Healing Magic. It didn't even make the cut for a Grade 6 Bloodline.
Tim had recently persuaded her to accept his Blood Essence. But with the shutdown of the Yellow Cubes, she couldn't locate a skilled Aetherist to handle the bloodline transfer.
Maybe her cousin, Jake could undertake the gene-splicing procedure if she had the luck to bump into him on the battlefield. For now, all she could do was lay low and strive to survive.
Her face creased with worry as she spotted thousands of daunting soldiers shouting in an unfamiliar tongue. She glanced at her Main Mission, which seemed a tad less daunting than Jake's, and muttered anxiously,
"I've got a feeling this Ordeal's beginning is not going to be a walk in the park."
Not only was the mission prompt sorely lacking details about this world-plane, but their cover identities felt shakier than ever. The usual starter kit — language, appearance, backstory, and sometimes even the local bloodline — was glaringly absent this round.
Then, she received the notification that many Players before her had eagerly awaited, and her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
[ Rank 9 Players will join the war in 36 hours. We recommend that you use this time to consolidate your position before your superiors arrive. ]
"Wait, the strongest Player here is the same rank as me?" She marveled, newfound confidence flooding in. "No time to dawdle. I need to find missions to boost my rating, pronto. I also need a plan to rendezvous with the others when they appear. Surely, I can't be the only Myrtharian Nerd dropped into this mess."
Like countless other Rank 8 Players in the same boat, she decided to capitalize on the 36-hour window. However, she didn't immediately join the other soldiers.
First, she had to lay low in her tent, eavesdropping on the cacophony of conversations outside to quickly catch up on the tongue barrier.
Unfortunately for her, the blare of a horn sounded mere minutes later. Suddenly, the camp transformed from a place of casual chatter into a whirlwind of urgency. The previously relaxed atmosphere turned solemn and tense. Moments later, soldiers burst out of their tents, lining up in full battle gear. With a heavy heart and no other option, Lily reluctantly followed in stride.
A man, clearly a higher-up, started barking orders in an alien, authoritative tone. The next minute, the armored horde began their march, seemingly towards an inevitable doom.
Lily, like many other Players still grappling with the language, had no choice but to move with the tide, trying to piece together what was happening. Thankfully, a beacon of clarity from the Oracle System chimed in,
[Side Mission n°1: Dive into your first battle and make your mark with an epic debut.]
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