The vibration of the smartphone on the nightstand was a jarring intrusion. Ethan Quinn glanced at the screen. A name flashed back at him from a lifetime ago: Howard Beckett.
In his previous life, Ethan had been late for work this very day. He remembered the humiliation vividly—standing in a cramped office while that bloated middle manager screamed himself hoarse. But that was a ghost's memory. In this life, Howard Beckett was less than an insect.
Ethan swiped to decline. He tossed the phone onto the bed, but it immediately began to buzz again. Beckett was persistent.
Ethan picked it up, hit decline again, and blocked the number in one fluid motion. A second later, a notification pinged from his social feed. A direct message from the same man:
“Ethan Quinn, do you have a death wish? The agency is giving you one last chance. If you aren't at the office in twenty minutes, consider yourself blacklisted. You won’t like the consequences.”
Ethan didn’t even bother finishing the sentence. He deleted the contact and blocked the account. The silence that followed was divine.
"Time to move," he muttered.
His targets: Fynn Solo and the heiress Lily Jiang.
The location: Irongate Plaza.
A quick scan of the local trends confirmed his intel. Fynn Solo was currently at the plaza in the heart of Rivenhaven City, holding a massive public event to "buy" Lifespan from his obsessed fanbase. It was barely five miles away.
Ethan left his phone on the charger. He pulled on a charcoal-grey mask and a black windbreaker, then stood in the center of the room. He didn’t reach for a weapon; he reached for the power humming in his veins.
His silhouette flickered. The edges of his body blurred into the morning light, turning translucent before vanishing entirely.
If anyone had been watching, their mind would have fractured. This shouldn't have been possible. The world still believed Godsfall was just a game. They had no idea that at Level 10, the boundaries between the digital and the physical had begun to dissolve. Fynn Solo was about to become the world’s first lesson in the new reality.
Irongate Plaza, Rivenhaven City – 4:00 PM
The plaza was a sea of screaming fans and flashing cameras. Thousands of girls had swarmed the area, desperate for a glimpse of Fynn Solo. Many had managed to farm a few days of Lifespan in the game and were eager to sell it to their idol, hoping for a signed photo or a moment of physical proximity.
In the center of the cordoned-off VIP zone, Fynn Solo sat lounging in a designer white vest, his eyes hidden behind dark shades. He looked every bit the pampered prince. Next to him sat Lily Jiang, her long hair tied in a high ponytail. She wore a pink tee and a short black skirt, her legs crossed casually.
As the daughter of the Chairman of Riverspan Industries, Lily wasn’t just a fan; she was a partner. She had provided the venue, using Fynn’s fame to lure in "sellers" so her family could harvest Lifespan on a massive scale.
"How’s the haul looking?" Lily asked, leaning toward him with a flirtatious smile.
Fynn checked his interface, visible only to him. "Over two thousand days," he said, his voice dripping with self-satisfaction. "Spent twenty million credits already."
Lily chuckled. "And that's not even counting the girls giving it to you for free. I'm almost jealous."
Fynn waved a hand dismissively. "It’s pocket change compared to what Riverspan is doing. I’m just playing around."
"Don't be humble," Lily said, her expression shifting to something sharper. "Anyway, I heard you were killed three times in the Hollows by some guy named Shade? Don't worry about it. My father’s team is already tracking his IP and geolocation."
Fynn’s brow furrowed under his shades. "It’s not easy. All we know is he’s a male player based here in Rivenhaven."
"Everyone has a price, Fynn. Money? Women? Power? I’ve already sent a team into Ember Hollow to find him. We’ll offer him a number he can't refuse. And once he shows up to collect the payment..." Her smile turned predatory. "He’ll belong to us."
Fynn laughed, the tension leaving his shoulders. "I like your style. I heard Riverspan has already 'recruited' a few high-level players this way."
"They're idiots," Lily giggled, covering her mouth. "Barely competent enough to farm basic mobs. But if we bag Shade, our efficiency will skyrocket. He’s clearly got a unique class."
"Make sure I'm there when you break him," Fynn said.
"Of course. I’ll let you have the first shot at—"
Lily’s words died in her throat.
A sickening thwack echoed through the VIP area.
Fynn Solo’s head snapped back. A dark green dart, humming with an eerie, sickly light, was buried deep in his forehead. It had appeared out of thin air, bypassing twenty security guards and a reinforced plexiglass barrier.
Fynn’s body slumped out of his chair, hitting the pavement with a heavy thud. Blood began to pool instantly, and then, something even more terrifying happened. A faint, grey-white orb of light—a Lifespan sphere—condensed over his corpse, exactly like the loot drops in Godsfall.
"AAAAAAH!"
Lily’s scream pierced the air as she scrambled backward, tripping over her own feet.
The crowd frozen for a heartbeat before erupting into pure, unadulterated chaos.
"Protect her! Get the heiress out of here!" the security captain roared, his team swarming Lily.
He glanced back at Fynn’s body. The pop star’s eyes were wide, staring at nothing, his sunglasses shattered. But the orb—the Lifespan sphere—was gone. It had vanished into thin air, as if sucked up by an invisible ghost.
The captain felt a cold sweat break across his neck. "Was that... stealth?"
"Move! Get her to the car!"
The security team formed a tight phalanx, ushering a hysterical Lily Jiang through the fire exit toward the back of the plaza. They reached the black armored sedan parked at the curb.
Just as Lily reached for the door handle, a second dart hissed through the air from the rooftop above. It took her through the base of the skull, exiting through her throat.
The heiress of Riverspan Industries collapsed onto the asphalt of her own property, dead before she hit the ground.
A two-for-one special, Ethan thought, watching the scene from the shadows of a nearby ledge.
He hadn't originally planned on killing Lily Jiang today, but after overhearing her little plan to "collect" him, the decision had made itself. She was a predator; he was just clearing the brush.
Pity about her Lifespan drop, Ethan mused. He was still in stealth, but the security guards were currently trampling all over her corpse. It was too risky to dive in for a few hundred days of essence.
He had, however, successfully absorbed Fynn Solo’s drop: 1,046 days of tradeable Lifespan. The irony wasn't lost on him—the man had spent twenty million credits just to hand the proceeds directly to his killer.
If I had the 'Bloom of Corruption' skill unlocked in reality, I could have drained the other half of their souls too, Ethan thought with a silent sigh. But extracting an Emerald-tier skill into the real world cost tens of thousands of days. He wasn't there yet.
He slipped away from the screaming crowds and the sirens, vanishing into the alleyways of Rivenhaven.
By the time the sun began to set, the news had shattered the internet. The footage of Fynn Solo’s "impossible" assassination was being looped on every major network across the globe.
Misted Vale Estate – 7:00 PM
Ethan sat in a nondescript noodle shop across from his apartment complex. He wore a plain t-shirt and gym shorts, looking like any other college-aged kid grabbing a cheap dinner.
He slurped his noodles, listening to the frantic whispers of the other patrons. Everyone was talking about the "Stealth Killer" and the "Godsfall Darts."
Physical activity in the real world still burns calories, even if you’re using game skills, Ethan noted. He was starving. In this new world, you could have ten thousand years of life, but you’d still die of thirst or hunger if you didn't take care of the "hardware."
"Did you see the video?" a man at the next table whispered, his voice trembling. "The light vanished! The police say someone was standing right next to the body, invisible!"
"It's the game," his friend replied, face pale. "The game is coming here."
Ethan finished his bowl and paid in cash. Let them speculate. By tomorrow, the first wave of Level 10 players would emerge, and the secret would be out. The world was about to become a very violent place.
His phone vibrated. It was Mia Yang, a former colleague from the office. She was a soft-spoken girl, the kind who usually got stepped on in a corporate environment. In his past life, she had been a loyal member of his guild.
Mia: "Ethan! Howard is losing his mind! He’s saying he’s going to sue you for breach of contract and withhold your final paycheck! Please just come in and talk to him!"
Ethan leaned against a lamp post and typed a short reply.
Ethan: "Forget about the job, Mia. Go home, lock the door, and get into Godsfall. Focus on your levels."
Mia replied almost instantly.
Mia: "Huh? I've been trying, but it’s so hard. I keep losing Lifespan to the mobs in the starter zone..."
Ethan: "Doesn't matter what your class is. Put every single stat point into Agility. Just run until you find a safe rhythm."
Mia: "Okay... >.<"
Mia: "Wait, Ethan, how is your progress? People are saying Lifespan is selling for crazy prices now. Did you make enough to quit?"
Ethan: "I've spent everything I earned. Don't worry about me."
It wasn't a lie. He hadn't sold a single second for money. He had reinvested every day of Lifespan into his own power—bringing his lethality from the screen into the street.
He headed back to his apartment, his mind already back in the game. Howard Beckett was still screaming into the void, unaware that his "Pear Drop" starlet—Lily Jiang, by her real name—was a corpse in a bag, and the employee he was threatening was the man who had pulled the trigger.
The tutorial was over. Level 10 was just the beginning.