"Game difficulty: Hell... no, super-Hell level!"
"Game rules: none. Game objective... I haven't decided yet... let's call it 'termination.'"
"Number of players... one..."
Lu Ce swayed from side to side, muttering incessantly. By the end, no one could tell what he was even babbling about. He looked genuinely drunk, as if he might topple into the ruins at any moment and never rise again.
It was a good thing no one was around. Otherwise, his appearance would have scared a few people to death.
Yet within ten miles of these pitch-black ruins, there was likely not even a living creature. The lonely madman could freely spill out his deranged thoughts.
Suddenly, Lu Ce's swaying body snapped upright, as though he had recovered his balance from a dizzy spell.
Just like the countless times before when he had confirmed his entry into a game, suffered a bout of dizziness, and arrived in another world, this self-directed game entry of his looked remarkably convincing.
"Hmm, you should all be here by now..."
"Then next comes the first stage of this game—Death's Hidden Gambit!"
"I was right, wasn't I? You definitely did something, and honestly, it was pretty obvious."
He did not seem to be speaking to anyone in particular. Then he abruptly looked in one direction.
"Still not coming out? They've already arrived. It's time for you to do your job too, isn't it?"
There was no one within the dark shadows. After a long wait, however, the sound of trickling water suddenly emerged!
Black liquid gathered from the ruins in every direction, slowly condensing before Lu Ce, rising upright, and taking human form.
—Chiyo Eon.
Purple-black divine power shrouded her entire body, making her seem fused with the surrounding environment, her outline impossible to distinguish.
Only her eyes slowly swayed within