The Aerial Observation Platform continued to glide silently over the Eastern Territory. Below, the distant sounds of battle confirmed the Phalanx was successfully engaging the SS-rank monster. Inside the carriage, the conversation between Kaelus and Sylva Moonshadow revolved around the devastating time anomaly.
"Now I know your origin, Kaelus," Sylva said, her voice quiet. "You are from another world, summoned here to the Terra continent. You and the Players have something in common. It may not resolve the other mysteries in you, but I need more information on these Players for us to know the exact time they will appear in Terra."
Kaelus knew he had to deliver the final piece of the puzzle, the data from his past life as Kai Nakamura.
The air was stagnant, filled with the aroma of cheap energy drinks. Kai Nakamura (18) hurried back to his apartment on November 14th. He hadn't bothered to bathe, relying on his stock of instant ramen and energy drinks. He left his apartment to visit the nearest convenience store.
As he approached the counter, the cashier, bothered by Kai's smell, quickly put on a facemask. Kai placed his groceries on the counter. "A total of 2682 yen, mister," the cashier muttered. Kai handed over a 5000 yen bill.
He left the konbini (convenience store) with his grocery bag, already drinking a can of energy drink. He was fully stocked and prepared for the upcoming mid-month Dragon Raid event.
His apartment was a catastrophic mess: the sink was overflowing with trash and unwashed dishes. He ignored it, entering his room where his computer was already running. His in-game character, SHINSEKAI (Rogue Assassin), was currently AFK grinding monsters for daily loot. SHINSEKAI was Rank 5 in the Unified Rankings and the top Japanese player in Aethos Ascendant, a popular Korean-developed MMORPG released three years prior.
The Dungeon Raid - Slay the Dragon was a highly anticipated event held every 15th and 30th of the month. The 10th and final boss was the Dragon. Kai was so excited because except the game's initial release, no one had defeated this boss. The boss had only been slain once during the very first release, on the second attempt. The developers, realizing the boss was too easily defeated in that first release and believing it didn't have enough impact, made it significantly harder by making players pass through a series of boss matches before they could reach the final Dragon boss. The difficulty was so high, barring potions or buffs and lasting three days, that the challenge was considered unbeatable since the initial launch. Kai was confident he had the strategy and preparation to reach the final boss this time.
The players could work together in parties of up to five members. However, the structure of the dungeon was designed to foster competition, as other parties were also enemies due to valuable loot from lower bosses. At first, the dungeon was so crowded that area-of-effect skills often killed other players, adding to the damage accumulation, and the developers made it clear that simply cooperating with multiple parties was not a viable strategy.
As the players discovered this, they created their own rule: the first battle was held outside the raid itself—they called it: Only Five. This rule was created to make working together easier. The rule was to kill each other until only five players remained, who would then heal and enter the dungeon as the official party. Two years ago, players requested the developers to create an arena at the Dungeon door for this very purpose.
SHINSEKAI entered the arena. The battle concluded quickly, leaving the usual victors: SHINSEKAI; WhiteTrash (Rank 2, USA, Greatsword user, known for being boastful and prideful); Emperor (Rank 4, China, Battle Mage, quiet but fierce); Jonghyun (Rank 7, Korea, Mage, known for his good nature); and Smile (Rank 8, Brazil, Swordsman, quiet).
WhiteTrash formed the party. They pushed through the dungeon, reaching the 9th boss for the second time. By this point, Emperor and Smile had fallen. WhiteTrash had less than half health, Jonghyun, with 10% remaining, was extremely fatigued, and SHINSEKAI had roughly one-third of his HP remaining.
In a cold-blooded move, WhiteTrash shoved the already exhausted Jonghyun forward as bait for the 9th boss's ultimate attack. Jonghyun was instantly evaporated. WhiteTrash then secured the killing blow on the 9th boss.
"Why did you do that!?" SHINSEKAI shouted and screamed over the voice chat at WhiteTrash, infuriated by his teammate's betrayal.
WhiteTrash didn't reply but immediately dashed toward SHINSEKAI. SHINSEKAI had no choice but to fight. He used stealth to strike WhiteTrash's back with his dagger, then unsheathed his katana to deal a killing blow.
SHINSEKAI, the last man standing, finally reached the 10th floor. The quest instantly appeared: Slayer of the Last Wind Dragon. The game system, recognizing the monumental achievement, automatically triggered a forced update—a new expansion pack launching the final boss encounter.
His avatar, a rogue with a newly enhanced poison blade, flawlessly dodged a torrent of swirling green energy. He watched the massive dragon's health bar drop to a sliver of red. Victory was within his grasp. Then, the sharp, searing pain tore through his chest. He collapsed, the screen went dark, and his life as Kai Nakamura ended, the quest remained agonizingly unfinished.
Kaelus blinked, the crushing clarity of the memory making the time distortion real.
"The date of the final raid in my world was November 15th," Kaelus stated, his voice tight. "And I was summoned 15 days ago in my original world."
"That means the Players are currently preparing for their mid-month Dragon Raid event in their own world," Sylva deduced, her eyes wide with mounting fear. "If that rate of distortion holds, and if the raid starts on the 15th of their month, then Atlas will launch its 5 team invasion on Terra in exactly one day."
The profound time distortion meant that the war they were preparing for was not weeks away, but mere hours. Based on our time paradox conversion, the Players are currently preparing for the event right now. One day in their original world, which means the invasion will commence this year in our timeline.