Civilization

[ You have died. ]

[ Live on then, Yet Hang: 3696:12:39 ]

I kept trying to complete the challenge over and over again. Luckily for me, the monster repeats the same set of attacks. By using the curse as a timer, I was able to time approximately when I would reach the spider to when the small spiders would catch up to me. I cleared 2 big spiders only to find a third spider hiding behind and after dying the third spider I came out of the game.

I feel my whole body shake, taking the VR helmet off aggressively and running to the bathroom. I slam the shower door open and turn it on, letting the cold shower drench my body. My entire body was burning, I could feel the skin peel away and turn to dust. I collapse to my knees as my dinner from last night came out the way it came in.

"IAN!" - Rebecca

I glance to the side to see Rebecca rushing toward me, she was still in her pink pajamas.

"What happened? What's wrong?" - Rebecca

I couldn't speak. My chest felt tight and under my right ear, I feel a searing pain. I let out a guttural scream, gripping my neck in agony.

"Your neck? Is it your neck? Let me see… What is this?" - Rebecca

I feel my entire body shake violently. The world spins around me and I black out.

.....

"I don't know what is happening." - Rebeca

"Are you nearby?" - Rebecca

"Can you come over?" - Rebecca

"Great! The address is…" - Rebecca

"How long until you come over?" - Rebecca

"1 hour? Great. I'll see you soon." - Rebecca

I hear Rebecca's voice, but my eyes are still groggy. My body feels heavy, and my head is pulsating in pain.

"Hmm? Ian! You are awake. How are you feeling?" - Rebecca

I turn my head toward her voice and try to speak, but nothing comes out.

"Okay, don't talk. Just close your eyes." - Rebecca

I slowly nod my head, closing my eyes as she said, and slowly I drift away.

...….

I open my eyes later and feel that the splitting headache was gone, but my body still felt heavy. I see Rebecca pacing back and forth in my room, wearing an oversized black jumper and shorts.

"Re…Becca." - Ian

My voice sounded so weak and frail. Like I was an elderly person trying to speak to their grandchild. Rebecca turns to me and I see her worried expression and reddish eyes.

"Ian!" - Rebecca

She quickly comes close to me, kneeling down on the ground next to my bed. She grabs onto my left hand and presses her forehead onto mine.

"Okay, you don't have a fever anymore. Don't worry, I called Evan and Sabrina to come over, and I asked my family doctor for advice already. She said that so long as you are kept in bed, warm, go toilet a lot, and have congee you will recover. She thinks it just happened to be a bad fever and stomach ache." - Rebecca

I hear the doorbell ring after Rebecca explained to me what her family doctor had told her.

"Give me a second. I think that is Evan and Sabrina." - Rebecca

I nod my head and Rebecca smiles at me before letting go of my hand and rushing to the front door. I hear some voices before Rebecca returns with Evan and Sabrina. They bought some chairs to sit on as they came in as well. Evan was wearing a simple navy blue polo shirt and brown chinos, while Sabrina was in a leather jacket, blacktop, and denim jeans.

"Ian! What happened?" - Evan

"Are you alright? Did something happen when you woke up?" - Sabrina

I sit up with the help of Rebecca and clutch my head as a slight headache came back to me. I take a sip of water, which Rebecca had already prepared, and took a breath to calm down before talking.

"I don't know what happened. I felt my whole body was on fire and it felt like the skin on my body was melting off." - Ian

"What the…" - Evan

"Didn't this happen to you before?" - Rebecca

"Similar, but this time the pain was worse." - Ian

"What to recount what happened?" - Sabrina

"I was completing a challenge in the Ikanda however the curse mark which I got from the Queen of spiders activated, changing the challenges. The challenge was originally just outrun the falling road, and you would have passed, according to Kingston, who already finished the challenges. Instead, I was thrown into a tunnel with an army of small spiders behind me and large spiders which took up the whole tunnel space in front of me. To make matters worse, each time I die, the curse accelerates by 24 hours.

Each death I felt excruciating pain, from being eaten by the spiders, paralysis, acid that melts my body, and parts of my body being ripped apart. When I woke up, I felt my body was on fire like it was melting just like in the game. I couldn't think of anything other than to cool my body, so I ran to the shower. I then felt a pain where the cursed mark should be before collapsing." - Ian

"Ian, I know this might sound crazy, but after you blacked out, I saw the cursed mark on your neck. A singular black spider with a black ring around it. The thing was, the spider started to move on your body, wriggling around in the ring before smaller spiders came out of the black ring. The smaller spiders stopped coming out, stopping just as they escaped from the ring. Moments later, it all disappeared, fading into your skin." - Rebecca

"What is this Orochimaru's curse? This is insane." - Evan

"It does sound unreal. Did you ever see the mark before this, Rebecca?" - Sabrina

"No. I did prank him when he got it in the game, but I never saw it myself. Did you know what it looked like, Ian?" - Rebecca

"I had Kingston look at it at one point, and he told me it was just a small spider-like tattoo under my right ear." - Ian

"It's evolving. The timer for it goes down naturally, but it gets accelerated when you die. This means that as the timer goes down, the curse mark evolves. At the moment we have seen 2 changes. The ring and then the smaller spiders coming out of the ring." - Evan

"The strange thing is nothing like this is happening to other players." - Sabrina

"Technically, I experienced something similar." - Rebecca

"Oh." - Sabrina

"Even so, none of us knows why it happens." - Ian

"So, what? Are you going to stop playing?" - Evan

"No. I'm just going to not die as much in the game." - Ian

"Easier said than done." - Sabrina

"I'll be here to help if anything happens." - Rebecca

"I'm on my way towards you in-game. I don't know how far away, but I'll get there." - Evan

"So why did we even need to come here?" - Sabrina

"Uh… I was worried. I didn't know what to do." - Rebecca

"Thank you for coming, though." - Ian

Evan's phone rings in his pocket. After taking out his phone and reading it, he smiles.

"Well then, on a less serious note. The game's homepage has made an announcement. Look." - Evan

[ Settlement 3rd Event coming on the 6th month anniversary. More details will come when it is 1 week away from the event. ]

"Ohhhhhhh! A new event. It's been so long." - Sabrina

"How long has the game even been out for?" - Rebecca

"I would say 4 months, maybe even 5?" - Ian

"Which means the event is coming soon." - Evan

"I can't believe Sylvia had some sort of knowledge that an event was going. She was right…" - Ian

"What do you mean?" - Evan

"Let me get you to speed first. My NPC, Sylvia, is an apostle of the god of war, Ares. She was notified by Ares that evil was brewing in the continent and something was about to happen. Ares also said that Sylvia needed to find an army to fight against evil. This event is most likely what Ares was warning Sylvia. However, before hearing about Sylvia's past, I didn't expect there to be gods which interact with NPCs already or anything like that." - Ian

"Wait. There are apostles? Have there been any player apostles yet?" - Evan

"No idea." - Ian

"No one would say anything if they were. Why give their advantage?" - Sabrina

"Makes sense why we don't know about them. Then we can assume other people have knowledge about the upcoming event as well." - Rebecca

"Not a lot of information, though. Just that we need a big force." - Ian

"They would have prepared for it. Training their NPCs, building their defenses, etc. However, we can do the same now." - Evan

"Right, so we start making sure we have some sort of army to defend against whatever it is that is going to happen." - Sabrina

"I also found something that might be related to the new event. I have a mine and in that mine, there is a black door with a white frame. There were scratches on the door, but my NPCs couldn't make a dent when they attacked it. When I placed my hand on the door, it said it wasn't available yet, which can only mean it will activate in the next event." - Ian

"I think… A dungeon maybe?" - Evan

"Or a hole where monsters spawn out of?" - Sabrina

"Or a place with treasure?" - Rebecca

"I didn't think dungeon would come into play, though? Wait… This is just a theory, but what if one of the Kings is associated with the door? I found a small room in the middle of the mountains which is related to Kronos. I'm near certain that I am not in his territory, which means there is a chance that another King is going to be active during the event. There will definitely be more doors popping up during this time and when the event starts, and I'm sure it will affect how the event will progress." - Ian

"Hmm… I see, you are thinking one of the Kings will invade the continent via these doors?" - Evan

"The Reaper or The Horde has the highest chance if that is the case." - Rebecca

"True, both of those should have large armies." - Sabrina

"We can only wait and see. There isn't enough information." - Ian

"Well, I'm hungry, shall we go get breakfast and hang out in the city? Ian pays?" - Evan

"Done. Smart decision Evan. One of the few you will ever have in your life." - Sabrina

"HEY! I am smart, thank you." - Evan

"I'm hungry too, shall we go?" - Rebecca

"Of course, pretty lady. Shall we go leave this ruffian behind." - Evan

"YOU! Imma hit you right now."  Sabrina

"Sorry there darling but I'm taken, how about another time? I'll make it worth your while." - Rebecca

"OHHHHHHHH!" - Evan

"Let me get changed, and then we can go and stop teasing him, Rebecca." - Ian