Gabriel scanned every detail in front of him. Palm trees, sand, humid air, the faint smell of ash from the volcano in the distance. The [System] message still floated in his mind like a screen burn.
You died from the stairs.
Yeah. Great. He believed it now. That didn't mean he liked it.
He breathed in deep, held it, let it out slow. No more panicking. Just figure it out. Games weren't solved by screaming.
"System. Where are we, exactly?"
[System: You are currently located in Volcano Island with a Lake on an Island with a Lake on a Continent.]
"...What?"
[System: More precisely, you are in a sub-biome known as Recursive Lake-Volcano Terrain.]
He stared blankly at the palm tree in front of him. His soul quietly left his body and returned again.
He'd heard of this place. Once. A meme on the Kingdom Era forums. An unholy joke from the devs. A spawn zone with a 1% chance of appearing—built to troll players and test the survival mechanics.
They called it Deathloop Island.
The only recorded player to spawn here lasted three hours before logging out forever. Rumor said he built a raft and tried to escape… but the waters were level-locked and swarming with beasts.
"Okay. Cool. No pressure. I've only been cursed to gamer hell."
He dropped to one knee, touched the sand again.
Still warm. Still real. Still not a dream.
His vision swam slightly.
Don't throw up. Don't black out. Gamer never give up.
He slapped his cheeks. Not softly.
"Alright, System. What do I have right now?"
[System: Inventory contains: 30x Log, 30x Stone, 1x Compass to Town Hall, 1x Clock, 1x Unknown Summoning Card.]
"Unknown summoning card?" Gabriel squinted. "Wait, like… a Hero Card?"
He opened the inventory mentally. There it was. A pulsing card icon with a glowing outline.
But before he could inspect it, the clock ticked audibly in his head.
6:43 PM.
The sky was already dimming. The golden hour was bleeding into something colder.
"Crap. Night falls fast in tropical biomes."
He stood up fast, opened the crafting menu like instinct. He'd done this a thousand times before. Even if this was his life now—Kingdom Era still had rules.
Workbench first. Basic tools. Shelter fast.
He selected the logs. Created a basic workbench. Then a wooden hammer. He ran to the nearest tree and yanked vines off it with trembling hands. His heart was racing, but not from fear—from old adrenaline. This was the tutorial rush. The desperate early scramble every player remembered.
Within twenty minutes, he'd hacked together a crude wooden shack using logs and vines. Four walls. One door. Roof made of woven leaves and desperation.
He reinforced the sides with stone blocks, just like in the game. The air inside smelled like wood dust and his own sweat.
"Good enough."
Gabriel sat inside the shack, cross-legged on the dirt floor. Outside, the sky had gone full obsidian blue. A distant howl echoed, something big and low and not human.
He didn't look.
Instead, he pulled up his inventory and tapped the card.
[Item: Unknown Summoning Card]
Random rarity. Guaranteed Hero-Class unit. Use to summon a companion bound to the Town Hall. Rarity may vary.
Hero Cards were extremely rare. In the original game, they were locked behind late-game raids or premium loot boxes. They allowed players to summon companions—beings with personalities, stats, and real combat power.
If this card was real…
"Alright. Please don't be a goblin, please don't be a goblin."
He activated the card.
A shimmering vortex appeared above his head, swirling gold and silver in lazy spirals. Wind kicked up around him, lifting dirt and dust and flickering embers. The shack creaked.
[System: Congratulations. You have obtained: SSS-Rank Servant – Astra.]
"Wait—SSS?"
A beam of light dropped from the vortex like a sword stabbing the air. It struck the floor in front of him, flared outward—
And then she appeared.
A girl stood there, barefoot on the packed earth.
Small.
Delicate.
She couldn't have been taller than five feet. Her hair was bone-white, reaching her waist in thin, fine strands that shimmered in the dim light. Skin pale as moonlight. She wore a fitted black combat dress laced with runes. No armor. No weapon. But her presence felt sharp—like a blade pressed gently to the neck.
Her eyes opened slowly.
Violet.
Not glowing. Just… deep.
She looked directly at him.
Then she stepped forward and knelt with mechanical precision.
"My Lord."
Her voice was soft, unafraid, unhesitating.
"I am Astra. I recognize you as my summoner and king. You may call me anything you wish."
Gabriel blinked.
He opened his mouth.
Closed it.
"I… uh… Hi?"
She tilted her head slightly. "Do you have a task for me?"
"No. I mean—not yet. I'm just… still processing the whole 'died from stairs' thing."
Her expression didn't change. She remained kneeling, calm, quiet. Like she'd done this a thousand times before.
SSS-rank. They're supposed to be rare. And powerful. But also—usually aloof. Hard to manage.
He checked her status window.
Name: Astra
Class: ???
Loyalty: Max (Bound)
Combat Role: Unknown
Passive Trait: [Soul-Bonded: Cannot betray the summoner]
Rarity: SSS
Specialization: Hidden
"...You're like a secret boss drop."
She didn't respond.
He stared at her for another moment, then sighed and leaned back against the wall of the shack.
"Alright, Astra. Let's survive night one. No quests. No builds. Just live."
Outside, something growled again.
Astra stood up, turned to face the wall like she'd already sensed it.
Okay. I have a shack. I have an SSS servant. I have 30 rocks and no plan.
Gabriel exhaled through his nose.
"This is gonna be the dumbest kingdom in history."