"It's been a long time since I talked about my past to anyone…"
I stared quietly at the table.
"…Where do I even start?"
The room remained silent as everyone listened.
"It's been three years since the Code trapped Countless Star into the New World alongside the other games."
"At that time, the Empire was still expanding its conquest across multiple regions."
"Back then…"
"Countless Star was peaceful."
"A world built entirely around magic and harmony."
"No killing."
"No destruction."
"No chaos."
I slowly clenched my hand.
"But…"
"That world was never meant for me."
Everyone quietly listened.
"I wasn't good at the game."
"I didn't have many friends."
"No real connections."
"It was just…"
"…boring."
I laughed weakly at myself.
"No danger."
"No excitement."
"No purpose."
"I always felt like an outsider there."
Then I looked toward the window.
"But eventually, the higher-ups of Countless Star approved an expedition beyond our world."
"That was my chance."
"My chance to finally experience the outside world."
"The thrill of danger."
"The unknown."
"So I joined the expedition team."
"Alongside several top-ranked players."
"And our leader…"
A small smile appeared on my face.
"…Yumine."
"She was one of theTop players in Countless Star."
"Popular."
"Brave."
"Kind."
"Everyone admired her."
"She earned everyone's respect naturally."
"She became the leader of the expedition."
For a moment…
The memories almost felt warm again.
"We spent nearly three months traveling from game to game."
"Gathering information."
"Exploring new lands."
"And for the first time…"
"I thought I finally found people I could truly connect with."
"Friends."
"People who accepted me."
"And I thought…"
"…Maybe I could finally prove myself."
The room remained completely silent.
Then my expression darkened.
"But everything changed."
"We unknowingly entered a Black Zone."
The atmosphere immediately became heavier.
"One of the most dangerous regions in the New World."
"Unpredictable terrain."
"Nightmare-level raid bosses."
"Unknown dangers everywhere."
"And worst of all…"
"…players."
I slowly lowered my eyes.
"And we walked straight into an ambush."
"A group of rogue FPS players."
The firelight inside the house flickered quietly as I continued.
"It happened inside a dense forest."
"We couldn't even see the enemies."
"Only bullets."
"Gunfire came from every direction."
"One by one…"
"My teammates started falling."
I could still remember the gunfire.
The fear.
The panic.
"Yumine!!"
"We won't survive if we keep hiding like this!"
One of my teammates shouted while taking cover behind shattered rocks.
Bullets ripped through trees around us nonstop.
The enemy hid perfectly within the forest.
We couldn't locate them.
It was impossible to counterattack.
And because our magic had limited range—
Using large-scale spells would kill us too.
"Hold your positions!" Yumine shouted.
"Wait for my signal!"
Everyone listened to her immediately.
Even under pressure—
She stayed calm.
Then—
"Ryze!"
I looked toward her.
She tossed something into my arms.
A sniper rifle.
I stared at it in shock.
"…Yumine?"
"Where did you get this?"
She smiled nervously despite the chaos around us.
"I noticed you staring at it back when we visited one of the trading city."
"And I heard you were good with FPS weapons."
"So…"
"Maybe this is your chance to show us your marksmanship."
I froze slightly.
She trusted me.
Even after everything.
I quickly inspected the rifle, adjusting the settings instinctively.
The weapon felt strangely natural in my hands.
"Ryze," Yumine called out.
"When I give the signal…"
"Shoot."
Then she raised her staff.
"Everyone!"
"Prepare yourselves!"
Unlike the others, Yumine wasn't a combat specialist.
She focused mainly on support magic.
A massive light formed above her as glowing symbols appeared throughout the air.
At that exact moment—
The enemy gunfire suddenly stopped.
Maybe they were confused.
Maybe distracted.
Then—
FLASH!!
A giant burst of light exploded across the battlefield.
The entire forest lit up.
And suddenly—
Red markers appeared everywhere.
Enemy positions.
Every hidden sniper.
Every ambusher.
Clearly visible.
"NOW!" Yumine shouted.
Instantly, our team unleashed dozens of offensive spells into the forest.
Explosions swallowed entire sections of trees.
And I fired.
One shot.
Another.
Another.
Every enemy exposed by Yumine's spell fell instantly.
For a brief moment—
We thought we won.
No more red markers.
No more enemies.
Then—
BANG!!
One of my teammates collapsed instantly.
Their body turned into particles of starlight.
Another shot followed.
BANG!!
Another teammate died.
Panic spread immediately.
"Where is he?!"
"Yumine, is your spell still active?!"
"Yes!" she shouted back desperately.
"It's still active!"
Then where was the shooter?
I looked everywhere.
Trees.
Cliffs.
Shadows.
Nothing.
But the shots kept coming.
One by one—
Everyone died.
Fear started taking over me.
I realized…
I could be next.
Then suddenly—
BOOM!!
The ground exploded beside us.
Dust and debris filled the area instantly.
I looked toward Yumine in shock.
She created the explosion intentionally.
"Ryze!"
She grabbed my shoulders tightly.
"You need to survive!"
"Go back to Countless Star!"
"I'll create a distraction!"
"No!" I shouted immediately.
"You should leave instead!"
"You're important!"
"You're useful!"
"I'm just—"
"Ryze!"
Her voice stopped me completely.
She looked directly into my eyes.
"…Countless Star was never truly your world, was it?"
I froze.
"So survive."
"Explore the outside world."
"Live your life to the fullest."
Then—
BANG!!
Everything went silent.
Yumine's body froze.
Then slowly collapsed onto the ground.
"…Yumine?"
I crawled toward her desperately.
"Yumine?!"
But there was no response.
Her body slowly broke apart into glowing starlight dust.
"No…"
"Wake up…"
"…Please…"
The dust around us slowly cleared.
And rage consumed me.
I grabbed the sniper rifle and fired wildly into the forest.
Shot after shot.
But nothing.
No target.
No enemy.
Then—
BANG!!
A bullet barely missed my head.
I immediately ducked behind cover.
Another shot.
Closer this time.
I tried moving positions.
Another shot narrowly missed again.
and again
That's when I realized the truth.
He wasn't missing by accident.
He was doing it intentionally.
Playing with me.
Like I was prey.
The hidden sniper could kill me anytime he wanted.
And he wanted me to know it.
Eventually, the dust finally disappeared.
I slowly stood alone in the middle of the battlefield.
Bodies gone.
Silence everywhere.
Then—
I saw him.
Far within the forest.
A figure wearing full camouflage gear.
Almost completely invisible against the environment.
No HP bar.
No name tag.
Nothing.
Only a glitched sniper rifle in his hands.
He stared directly at me.
Then slowly raised two fingers like a gun.
Pointed at me.
"…Bang."
He mimicked the sound himself.
Then turned around—
And disappeared deeper into the forest.
I never saw him again.
I slowly fell onto my knees.
"…Yumine…"
"…Everyone…"
After that…
I somehow managed to return to Countless Star alone.
When I walked through the streets—
Everyone stared at me.
Disgust.
Pity.
Confusion.
I couldn't even tell anymore.
Eventually, I reported everything to the higher-ups.
At first, they didn't believe me.
"All elite expedition members were wiped out…"
"And only you survived?"
"Where is Yumine?"
I couldn't answer.
I just looked down silently.
Some Higher ups blamed me.
Others pitied me.
One of the higher-ups sighed.
"We allowed them to explore the outside world."
"Danger was inevitable."
"It's unfortunate Yumine didn't survive."
Another immediately interrupted.
"That's enough."
"It was an ambush."
"It's not this girl's fault."
Then one of them looked directly at me.
"Ryze."
"Thank you for the report."
"You may leave."
Before leaving—
I placed something on the table.
A small hairpin.
Yumine's hairpin.
"…This belonged to her."
Then I left Countless Star.
Taking only the sniper rifle Yumine gave me.
And eventually…
I met the Resistance.
And joined them.
Silence filled the room after I finished speaking.
Nobody spoke immediately.
The only sound was the quiet wind outside.
Then—
Volt slowly lowered his head.
"…Damn."
For once, he didn't have a joke ready.
Even he looked shaken.
Sylph quietly covered her mouth.
Her eyes softened sadly.
"…Ryze…"
"That must've been hard for you…"
Even Axell looked unusually serious.
"…A Black Zone ambush…"
He frowned deeply.
"And that FPS player…"
"…Why do I feel like I've heard rumors about someone like that before…?"
Blaze remained silent the longest.
His eyes stayed fixed on the table.
As if something about the story deeply bothered him.