National Monarchs, what are they.
Well, National Monarchs are beings who IRL have reached the top 10 on the global leaderboard and are somewhat untouchable in power.
While playing Transcendence Online, I was ranked 45th and I can confirm or testify that the top 10 are monsters.
There was a time where there was a crossover of players*
The crossover of players was an era in the game were players would meet and fight each other to see who had the strongest player or who was actually strongest gamer It was to also give the oddballs who were struggling to climb up the ladder get the ultimate chance to rise on the leaderboard.
I faced one of them and I barely lasted 5 seconds against them. And that person was ranked 10. If he was this strong then how big of a beast was number 5 or number 1.
It's the beginning so it seems there aren't any national Monarchs as S ranks and Z ranks are being praised for their power.
The day a national monarch arrives the world will be in chaos.
Well, let's stick to the now, for now…
___________…
Morning sunlight leaked through the curtains, stabbing me right in the eyes.
For a moment, I almost cursed it. I'd lived in darkness for so long back on Earth—six months with curtains drawn, glued to my monitor—that I'd forgotten what sunlight felt like.
But here? It was… warm. Alive.
Maybe this was what being reborn was supposed to feel like.
"Arthur!"
Mina's voice rang out from the kitchen.
I dragged myself up, washed my face, and walked out to the smell of heaven. Pancakes stacked high, eggs fried perfectly, steaming rice, kimchi laid out like an artist's palette.
"Breakfast," she said with a tired smile. "You can't fight monsters on an empty stomach."
I blinked at her. An unawakened. A recruiter manager at the Reaper Guild. Someone who didn't even have stats or skills to rely on… and yet she still worked hard, cooked hard, lived hard.
It hit me harder than it should have.
In my old life, my real sister had worked herself ragged while I locked myself in a room, wasting away in front of a monitor.
Here, I had another chance.
Not the same sister, but one who looked at me like family.
So I couldn't be the same useless parasite I was back on Earth.
I ate, savoring every bite. "Thanks. I'll… I'll do my best too."
Mina blinked at me like I'd just grown another head. Then she smiled again, softer this time.
But breakfast couldn't delay reality forever.
I had one month to find my real sister. To survive. To grow strong enough not to die like a rat in the gutter.
And that meant hunting.
Normal hunting wouldn't cut it. Grinding goblins or wolves in low-level dungeons was fine for scrubs. I needed something more. Something hidden.
That's when I remembered it.
The X Factor.
Not many knew about it. In the game forums, it was just a rumor. A glitch. A death trap.
The "X" stood for death, the unknown. The place where players went to die more often than they survived.
Which is exactly why it was perfect.
The location came back to me as if burned into my brain: Gwanaksan Mountain. A place hikers loved, overlooking Seoul. But in Transcendence Online, it wasn't just a mountain. It was a gate.
The X Factor.
And the rewards? Oh, the rewards were cracked. Survive the trial, and you gained not one but two random skills and a +10 boost to all stats.
High risk, high reward. Just my kind of gamble.
I arrived at the base of the mountain, the air crisp and sharp.
For the first time in years, I felt… fresh. Like my lungs had been washed out. My legs burned from the climb, but it was the kind of burn that made me grin.
Then it hit me.
The oppressive weight.
Not crushing, not suffocating. But heavy. The air shimmered faintly, thick with energy.
Mana.
I was in the right place.
"This is where the game gave quests like… survive thirty minutes without a weapon," I muttered.
The moment the words left my mouth, the system chimed.
[Side Quest Unlocked.]
Survive three waves of goblins.
300 goblins per wave.
Rewards: +10 to all stats. 2 random skills.
"…" I blinked. Then groaned. "I jinxed myself."
Before I could swear properly, the world warped.
The mountain melted away, replaced by a barren battlefield. Jagged rocks, blood-soaked soil, and in the distance… a sprawling goblin village. Ramshackle huts, wooden stakes, smoke rising from crude fires.
A notification flashed.
[Location: Goblin's Valley.]
I looked down. A rusty knife lay at my feet.
Of course.
I picked it up, giving it a lazy twirl. "Really? Out of all the weapons, a butterknife with tetanus?"
The system chimed again, almost smug.
[Good luck.]
I sighed, long and loud.
Then the earth trembled.
From the village, they poured out. Not three hundred. Not even four.
Easily more than four hundred goblins, screeching, banging weapons together, hungry eyes locked on me.
I tightened my grip on the knife.
"Well," I muttered. "I'm fucked."
The first wave charged.
Elsewhere.
A place drenched in blood and silence.
Six silhouettes stood in the ruins of what had once been a battlefield.
Corpses littered the ground. The air reeked of iron.
One figure spoke, voice cold. "Transcendence Online… it's begun."
Another laughed bitterly. "The tower won't stay idle now. We'll be pulled deeper."
Then, from the shadows, a man stepped forward.
Red hair like fire. Red eyes that glowed faintly in the dark.
"So now there are twenty-four of us," he said, his voice calm, certain.
The others stiffened.
"The Ultimate Constellation was right."
The air grew heavier.
And somewhere, in Goblin's Valley, I prepared to fight for my life.