Game On: A World Reborn

Liang Wu pushed aside the thick vines that hid the entrance to the dungeon. The mist from the cascading waterfall filled the air, wrapping around them like a freezing veil, made even colder by the night. He looked up to see the bright moon hung overhead. They had spent an entire day inside the Crystal Caverns, and the chill of the night added to the weight of his exhaustion.

“Phew!” He let out a long breath, relieved to leave the dark, oppressive tunnels behind.

Daiyu stepped out of the tunnel behind him, carrying the unconscious Chen Li Li on her back. Thanks to her unique physique, her stamina seemed almost boundless. She barely looked fatigued after the long ordeal in the caverns.

Liang Wu stood near the entrance, staring up at the moon, lost in thought. *What went wrong back there?* He couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that something was amiss.

Daiyu’s light tap on his shoulder broke him from his musings. “What are you thinking about?” she asked, her voice soft but curious.

“I need to figure out what happened in the dungeon. The Crystal Guardian shouldn’t have had that strange immunity,” Liang Wu muttered, furrowing his brows as they started walking through the dark forest back to their camp. The trees creaked under the weight of the night wind, adding to the eerie atmosphere.

As they trudged through the undergrowth, Liang Wu's thoughts spiraled. Who could have messed with the dungeon? The Dungeon Masters wouldn’t mess around like that—they were probably too absorbed in their experiments to pull such a prank. And any old enemies of his were either dead or wouldn’t resort to such a childish method of attack. It doesn’t make sense.

Growing frustrated, he decided to consult the Dungeon Masters directly. “Start a video call with the Dungeon Masters,” he commanded the System.

“Start a video call with the Dungeon Masters.”

“Ugh.” The System Helper spoke in the voice of a child.

“What’s wrong? Also, why do you keep changing your voice?”

“Bored.”

“That wasn’t enough excitement for you?”

“No, it was like watching children playing.”

“Whatever, just connect me with the Dungeon Masters.” He scuffed, feeling somewhere between amused and angry. Though he agreed, their fight was childish, but he wouldn't admit that.

A screen flashed into view, nearly causing him to collide with a tree. On the screen were two figures, a man and woman dressed in identical green robes. Their skin was tanned, and their faces identical, a clear sign they were the twin Dungeon Masters, Tian Long and Tian Feng. Behind them, strange devices cluttered a dimly lit room.

“What's up Liang Wu?” Tian Long greeted casually, not looking up from the device he was tinkering with—a sword with gears embedded in its blade.

Liang Wu wasted no time. “Have either of you altered the Crystal Caverns dungeon?”

“Which Crystal Caverns? There is beginner level one in the Muqin continent, and an expert level one—wait, that doesn't matter, we haven't altered either of them.” Tian Long said, still fiddling with the strange sword, seemingly unconcerned.

“Did something happen in one of our dungeons, Liang Wu?” Tian Feng asked. She was more attentive than her brother and noticed Liang Wu scowling.

“Yes, while we were challenging the Crystal Guardian Boss in the beginner level dungeon, the Crystal Caverns. It became immune to physical damage, and an impenetrable barrier covered the exit. Luckily, one of my companions had a strong elemental skill, allowing us to defeat the Boss, only barely. But that’s not how the dungeon’s supposed to work.”

“Hmm…? Let me check our records.” She stood up from her seat and walked to a table filled with scrolls. In the middle of the table was a machine. It resembled a computer. She pressed a button on the machine and a hologram popped out from its screen. As she used her fingers to interact with the hologram, a long list of words scrolled by. She stopped on a string of words and turned back to look at Liang Wu after reading them. “According to the records, we have indeed not altered that dungeon. Give me a moment longer and I will review the recordings from your battle with the Boss monster.”

She tapped on the hologram, and a video began playing. After fast forwarding, she came to the moment where the blinding light shone from the Crystal Guardian’s inner core. “That's strange… hmm? Long'er where is the aura gathering tool?” She turned to her brother, who’d appeared behind her watching the video at some point.

Tian Long lazily handed over a tablet-like device that flashed into his hand. “Here you go.”

“Thanks. I’ll be right back.” She disappeared from the screen.

A moment later, an extremely tall woman in a green robe materialized in front of Liang Wu. Her tall frame was enough that he had to look up to see her face. She was the same woman he had just been talking to. She gave him a bright smile and stepped forward to give him a hug, having to lean down to reach her face close to his. “How have you been, Liang Wu? I haven't seen you in a hundred years. The last time we talked was a few years ago when you put us in charge of those dungeons, but you never came to visit us then.” As she spoke a pout spread across her beautiful tanned face.

He tried pushing her away, however he was much too weak. “Can you please release me, Tian Feng?”

“Um? Who… are you?” Daiyu asked. She had been walking ahead of Liang Wu and hadn’t seen this woman appear out of thin air. She’d only noticed her when she heard their voices.

Tian Feng let go of Liang Wu, turning to glance at the young women she had seen in the video a moment ago. When she saw them in real life, she was momentarily stunned. Looking at Daiyu, then down at herself, she sighed in relief. “Phew, about the same.”

“I’m Liang Wu’s… friend. My name is Tian Feng. It’s nice to meet you.” She stepped close to Daiyu and pressed a finger against Chen Li Li’s head. A soft golden light shone from the tip of her finger, flowing down Chen Li Li’s body.

“What are you doing?” Daiyu asked as she stepped away from the strange woman who claimed to be Liang Wu’s friend.

“I’m healing the little girl.” She said with a laugh.

As her words ended, Chen Li Li stirred on Daiyu’s back. She lifted her head while rubbing her eyes. “Where’s breakfast?”

“Judging by the time you should ask about dinner, little girl.” Tian Feng joked.

Chen Li Li blinked, taking in the stranger. “Who are you?”

Tian Feng grabbed Liang Wu by the shoulder and said. “His friend.”

“You must be a god, then?” Chen Li Li quipped.

“No, I'm a goddess!” Tian Feng laughed.

“Great. Even his friends are lunatics,” Chen Li Li muttered under her breath as she hopped down from Daiyu’s back. “You’re not going to call yourself the Supreme Goddess Empress, are you?”

Tian Feng stopped laughing and looked at Chen Li Li in confusion. “What is a Supreme Goddess Empress? I would never call myself something so dumb sounding.”

Chen Li Li shrugged. “That lunatic calls himself the Supreme God Emperor, so I figured if you're his friend and you call yourself a goddess, then you’d probably refer to yourself in the same way.”

Tian Feng looked down at Liang Wu. “You call yourself something so cringy?”

“It's not cringy, it's cool!” He tried defending himself.

“No, it's cringy.” Tian Feng said flatly.

“Right!? I keep trying to tell him that.” Chen Li Li chimed in.

Daiyu, trying to offer support, quietly added, “I think Master’s nickname is cool…”

The other two women stared at Daiyu for a moment before shaking their heads in disbelief.

“She’s too deep in love, isn’t she?” Tian Feng whispered to Chen Li Li

Chen Li Li nodded. “Unfortunately.”

Daiyu blushed furiously as Tian Feng shook her head with a chuckle. “I don’t blame her. He is the most handsome man in Lan Xing, after all.”

“What is Lan Xing?” Chen Li Li asked.

“Lan Xing is the name of the world in which we live. Though it doesn’t have an official name and it's usually just called the World, here in the western continent.” Liang Wu took this chance to butt into the conversation, wishing to steer it away from himself.

“Why do they call it that?” Daiyu asked.

“When you look down at the world from high above, it looks like a ‘blue star’, hence the name Lan Xing which means blue star.”

“How do you look at the entire world from above?” Chen Li Li asked curiously.

“You could fly, or use your divine sense if it is strong enough.” He answered.

“This is what it looks like.” Tian Feng held out a holographic projection of a planet. It had four continents, one in each cardinal direction, separated by large oceans.

“Wow!” Both girls exclaimed at the same time.

“It's so pretty!” Chen Li Li said, as she stared at the projection in wonder.

“It's like a jewel!” Daiyu said, just as amazed as Chen Li Li.

Liang Wu didn’t notice himself, however, he had a large warm smile on his face, as he watched the three women playing with the projection of the world. He was feeling a sense of happiness that he hadn't felt in such a long time that he completely forgot what it even felt like to begin with.