Four Meet

Their senses were violently tugged, space seeming to be kneaded apart and reassembled by an invisible giant hand.

The next moment, their heavy lava bodies suddenly felt weightless, and the charred stench of the Rhine Lab ruins was replaced by a familiar, tranquil atmosphere.

The focus of their perception cleared again, revealing the incomparably familiar Soul Knight lobby.

Aside from the absence of familiar figures in their usual places, everything else was exactly as it had been when they played online together.

"Boss, you're awake? You're already a pretty girl now!" A voice with an extremely punchable tone rang out.

The boss looked toward the voice and saw a figure standing before him with his hands on his hips.

The man wore a hunter's outfit of dark red and black. A roguish smile hung on his pale face, and his scarlet pupils glimmered faintly in the dim lobby. He also carried an outrageously oversized scythe on his shoulder—

He looked exactly like the Soul Knight Vampire skin "Crimson Shadow Verdict: Vane," except the soul inside that body was Fourth.

Fourth gently poked the boss's hard lava body with the shaft of his scythe.

"Boss, that's quite a unique look. Can you still feel that ■■ exists?"

The boss instinctively wanted to curse him out, but what rolled from his throat was only a low growl.

Fourth froze for a moment. "This skin can't even speak human language?"

At that moment, another voice came from nearby, carrying hollow exhaustion.

"He may have spoken. We just couldn't understand him."

The boss turned toward the speaker. She was a tall woman...

She wore a midriff-baring outfit and torn black stockings that outlined her fiery, seductive figure. A Hex Staff wrapped in ominous energy floated beside her.

—She was the Necromancer skin "Orange Flame Demon Eye: Vera."

"You're... Second!?"

The boss's shocked voice exploded through the mental link, and several bits of debris fell from his lava jaw.

"Hahahahaha!" Fourth laughed even more wildly, nearly losing his grip on the scythe.

"I told you Boss would be shocked! Second, that skin of yours... tsk tsk, every shut-in's dream!"

"Shut up!"

Second's voice was clearly embarrassed and irritated. She instinctively tried to push up glasses that did not exist, then awkwardly lowered her raised hand halfway through.

"Is this the time to discuss that? Boss, how are your injuries?"

Her reminder made the boss suddenly recall the agonizing pain of being pierced through by calcium crystal spikes.

He looked down at his waist and abdomen. The enormous hole he had dug into himself had vanished, and his lava shell was completely intact.

"I'm fine... It should be the effect of my skill..."

The boss stood up and looked around. The materialized lobby seemed extremely empty.

"Where's Third? Why don't I see him?"

"I'm here..."

A timid voice cut in.

Only then did the boss notice a massive figure standing in the darkness at the corner of the lobby.

It was a monster with a mighty stag's head and towering body. Its entire body was black, and its deadwood-like antlers were covered in candle flames—

It was the Druid skin "Forest Envoy: Gorth."

At the moment, this enormous stag-headed monster looked somewhat at a loss.

"Third, why are you standing so far away? Come over." The boss called to him through the link.

Third hesitated before finally taking heavy steps and slowly walking over.

Once he fully entered the light, they could finally clearly examine what each of them looked like now—

A ferocious Flame Demon, a fiery Necromancer, a gorgeous Vampire, and... a bizarre stag-headed creature.

The bizarre sight made the atmosphere stagnate for a moment.

Then, Second's voice suddenly sounded faintly.

"So... we really were transported to another world..."

Hearing that, Third instinctively lowered his head to look at the claws covered in black fur and hard hooves. His voice carried undisguised fear.

"And turned into monsters..."

The boss sighed, spraying out a small cluster of sparks that smelled of sulfur.

Clang—

Everyone looked toward Fourth at once. He was trying to open the pixel-style refrigerator in the corner.

"What the heck? Why is there nothing in this fridge?"

He slammed the refrigerator door shut, then knocked on its casing with the shaft of his enormous scythe, producing a series of clangs.

"..." ×3

Second rubbed her forehead helplessly. "How could there possibly be anything...?"

Fourth's interruption dispersed much of the heavy, oppressive atmosphere.

Second took a deep breath and clapped her hands before her chest, producing a crisp sound that drew everyone's attention.

"Alright, don't be so dejected. Since things have come to this, blaming fate is useless." Her voice regained its composure.

"Now, we need to sort out the information properly."

She looked around at the other three and spoke methodically.

"First, we can confirm that we have become the characters we controlled in Soul Knight, and have gained the appearance, strength... and perhaps even the background settings brought by their respective skins."

She looked at the boss. "Boss, your flame abilities clearly came from the 'Axe of Hades: Gregor' skin."

The boss nodded and opened his lava palm. A small ball of scorching flame burned quietly in his hand, proving her point.

"I have a question!" Fourth suddenly raised his hand with an expression of utmost seriousness.

Second looked at him, helplessness showing in her eyes. "Speak."

Fourth pointed at Second's current fiery, seductive Necromancer body, his tone full of scholarly curiosity.

"Your current appearance... um, that thing of yours... is it still there?"

The air instantly froze.

Second's body trembled, and her demon eye suddenly lit up with a dangerous red glow.

"That question... is completely unimportant!"

Fourth seemed oblivious as he nodded to himself.

"Oh, so it isn't."

"I'll smash yours right now!"

Second roared and raised the curse-laden staff, which looked anything but light, preparing to charge at Fourth.

Fourth let out a terrified shriek, hurriedly mimed zipping his mouth shut, and hid behind the boss's burly lava body.

"Enough. Stop messing around."

The boss's deep voice sounded through the link as he used his shield to block Second's symbolic swing of her staff.

Second withdrew her staff, but her demon eye continued to glare at Fourth hostilely.

After that farce, the atmosphere was somewhat chaotic, but more than half of the initial heaviness and panic had truly dissipated.

Second forcibly calmed herself and pulled the topic back on track.

"Back to the point. Besides our appearances and strength, we have retained the skills from the game."

"Boss used [Energy Shield] earlier, while Third summoned... uh, a stag-headed monster?"

Third added quietly, "It was [Summon Giant Bear], the Druid's third skill."

"Right." Second nodded. "Fourth and I haven't tested our skills yet, but in theory, they should both exist. They are an important asset for surviving in this world."

The instant Fourth heard about testing skills, he perked up.

"Then should we try them now? There are ready-made targets right here!"

"Don't rush." Second sighed.

The boss extended his huge hand and grabbed Fourth's shoulder, trying to pull him back.

"Aah—!! Hot, hot, hot, hot!! Boss is on fire! Your hand! Take your hand off!" Fourth immediately let out a string of miserable screams, desperately patting the smoking cloak fabric on his shoulder, which had been branded with a handprint.

The boss sheepishly withdrew his hand, looked at his steaming palm, and gave a dry cough through the link.

[Sorry, I didn't notice the temperature.]

Second ignored the little incident and continued her calm analysis.

"According to the information Fourth provided, Saria's combat strength is already considered above average in this world."

"Then, judging from the fact that Boss could confront her head-on... we should possess a certain degree of ability to protect ourselves in this world."

"However, survival is not just about fighting." Second looked around at the other three, her tone turning serious.

"Now we need to consider other, more basic but equally deadly problems."

Almost the instant her words fell, the four of them gave different answers in unison, based on their respective personalities and circumstances—

Boss: "Language." (He had just suffered badly from being unable to understand human speech.)

Second: "Information." (Information gaps were the greatest danger.)

Third: "Food..." (His experience on the Ursus Tundra had made him extremely sensitive to survival supplies.)

Fourth: "Girls!"

"..." ×3

Second's demon eye narrowed dangerously as it locked onto the innocent-looking Fourth.

"Uh," Fourth hurriedly tried to salvage the situation.

"I mean... reliable local guides! Right, guides! Preferably pretty ones, so they can help us blend into society faster..."

Second slowly raised her staff, her voice frighteningly calm.

"I think that before discussing food, language, and information, we should first deal with the 'hazardous waste' within our team."

"Boss, save me!"

Fourth cried out and once again hid behind the boss's burly body.

The boss sighed helplessly. "Alright, be serious... The guide issue can wait."

"Our current priorities are language, information, and food."

He looked at Second. "Language requires systematic learning. Do you have any ideas?"

Second glanced at Fourth, signaling for him to explain.

Fourth cleared his throat. "Most countries in this world are based on real-world countries, including China."

Third said, "So we can speak Chinese?"

Fourth replied, "No, Victorian... or rather, English, is the common language."

The boss nodded. They were college students, after all. They should be able to manage ordinary English conversations, right?

He then looked at Third. "Food... Do these bodies of ours still need to eat? And if we do, what should we eat?"

Third froze and instinctively touched his furry stomach.

"Come to think of it, I don't feel hungry at all..."

Second guessed, "Perhaps it has something to do with us being game characters. After all, there is no hunger meter in the game."

The boss lowered his head to examine his body. "Even if I had to eat, I can't think of what I could eat. Lava?"

Shaking his head, the boss brought the topic back on track.

"In any case, we need to understand this world better—that is, gather information. Fourth, you are our main source of information."

Fourth poked his head out from behind the boss. "Ahem, as for information... what I know is really just what happened in the game's story, and I can't remember a lot of the details. But I still remember the general outline..."

(As he explained...)

Everyone fell silent. The boss said gravely,

"This world is way too dangerous, isn't it?"

Fourth nodded. "Tell me about it. After all, this land has never lacked suffering."

Then he changed the subject and pointed at the lobby.

"We understand the information now... Shouldn't we figure out what this safe house is for next?"

"Other than letting us shout 'Home' and hide in here, does it have any other functions? For example... can we go directly somewhere else from here?"

"Or, like in the game, can we forge weapons, farm, and so on?"

Fourth's words reminded everyone.

This lobby, which had rescued them from danger, might conceal even more secrets concerning their survival and future.