Bright red words materialized in the sky above.
[Invasion Successfully Repelled!]
'Dammit…'
Santer looked down at the bulky man still sprawled on the ground, his bare face pressed against the dirt. The man's abdomen was completely exposed, and a growing pool of blood had formed beneath his motionless body.
"Help... me..." The voice groaned without any movement. Santer grunted as he tried to rise, but his strength failed him miserably. He turned toward Nikki, who had crouched nearby with a visibly distraught expression etched across her face.
"Very good! Well done, heroes! You have successfully defended against the grey wolves—congratulations!" The fairy's voice chimed with sickeningly sweet cheerfulness, though no one was in any condition to celebrate.
"Can you JUST tell your master to drag us to the altar?" Santer grumbled, his energy completely drained.
'As long as I don't protest, the caretaker fairy can do nothing,' he thought grimly.
"Oh, right! Give me one second!"
[Pro Tip: Drag your heroes near the altar. This way they will be able to heal and recover for future battles!]
Suddenly, Santer began floating in mid-air, magically drawn toward the altar. As white light cascaded over him, the healing process began. First, his bones regenerated, followed by blood vessels, then muscles, and finally his skin sealed over the wounds.
Though Nikki hadn't suffered severe injuries, both Ian and the archer were also dragged to the altar for treatment.
[Pro Tip: While the heroes are recovering, kindly use the newly earned coins to build your walls!]
The fairy continued the tutorial as ten-meter-high walls spawned around the base. Various essential buildings materialized: dormitories, training grounds, a cafeteria, and finally... the Sacrificial Ascension Chamber.
Santer's eyes fixed on the structure as it appeared from nothing—a metal-rigged building that looked like something from the steampunk era, complete with two towering chimneys.
'Since this building is here, I can officially confirm that this is The Eternal Continent.' Santer stood fully recovered and tested his newly reformed arm with several experimental swings.
Another pop-up appeared in his field of vision, stirring his suspicions. 'Why am I able to see the master's interface notifications?'
[The Scenarios will open in 3 days. We await your arrival by then! The System will notify you if there is another invasion, and the heroes will temporarily defend the base if monsters appear!]
He dismissed the screen with a gesture and looked toward Yuvana. 'It's time to clear my doubts.'
"Yuvana," Santer called out, his voice cutting through the post-battle silence like a blade through silk. The fairy turned toward him, her translucent wings still shimmering with residual magic.
"Yes, Santer? You look troubled," she replied, floating closer with that perpetual cheerfulness that somehow grated against his nerves.
"This place—The Eternal Continent—it's not a game, is it?" Santer's expression hardened, his newly healed muscles tensing as memories flooded back. "The scenarios, the sacrificial chamber, even the way the system operates... I've seen all of this before."
Yuvana tilted her head, confusion flickering across her delicate features. "What do you mean? This is your first time here, isn't it? The master summoned you randomly from—"
"No." Santer's interruption was sharp and final. "I wasn't selected randomly. And this isn't my first time." He paused, watching her expression shift from confusion to disbelief. "I'm Milan."
The words hung in the air like a death sentence. Yuvana's wings stopped their gentle flutter, her entire form going rigid.
"That's... that's impossible," she whispered, backing away slightly. "Milan is the legendary player who reached the 72nd scenario before disappearing. He's practically a myth among the caretakers. You can't be..."
Santer reached down and picked up a spear that had fallen near the altar. With precise movements, he drew an intricate symbol in the dirt—a badge with elaborate details and vivid markings.
[The Eternal Conqueror's Badge!]
"Scenario 23: The Crimson Tide," Santer began, his voice taking on a haunting quality. "The blood moon rises, and crimson wolves pour from dimensional rifts. The key isn't fighting them head-on—it's collapsing the dimensional anchor hidden beneath the third wave's alpha."
His eyes met hers. "Scenario 47: The Frozen Citadel. Everyone thinks you need fire magic, but the real solution is finding the thermal core and reversing its polarity."
Yuvana's face had gone pale, her form flickering like a candle in the wind. "Those scenarios... they're classified. Only someone who's actually cleared them would know the true solutions."
"Scenario 63: The God's Trial," Santer continued relentlessly. "The one that broke most players. You have to sacrifice your most powerful unit to the void altar—not to appease the god, but to create a soul bridge that lets you walk directly into its domain and challenge it on equal terms."
"Stop," Yuvana breathed, her voice barely audible. "Please, stop."
But Santer pressed on. "I can even see the master's interface notifications—the same ones you send to the Master of this base." He gestured toward the lingering system messages. "So tell me: why and how am I inside the Eternal Continent? Most importantly, wasn't this supposed to be just a game?"
Yuvana stared at him with a mixture of awe and terror. "You really are Milan," she whispered. "The player who vanished without a trace, who left the entire community wondering what happened to the strongest Eternal Continent challenger in history."
"That's right." Santer's expression darkened. "And now I'm stuck back at the beginning, with no memory of how I got here. One moment I was preparing for the 73rd scenario, the next..." He gestured around them. "I'm being dragged through another master's tutorial."
The fairy's mind raced. Her three years of caretaker training hadn't prepared her for situations like this. "This... this has never happened before."
"Of course it hasn't."
"Are you really from Earth?"
"Yes."
They stood in silence for a moment, both lost in thought. Finally, Yuvana spoke, her voice small and uncertain.
"There's... there's only one way to find out what happened," she said slowly. "The answers you're looking for aren't in the early scenarios. If you really are Milan, if you really made it to the seventies..." She took a shaky breath. "You'll have to do it again. All one hundred scenarios. Only at the end will you understand what happened to you—and possibly find a way back to Earth."
"Haha."
Santer's laugh was bitter, devoid of humor. "One hundred scenarios. Years of my life, all over again." He paused, his voice dropping to a whisper. "And this time, I won't have the luxury of retrying."
"I'll help you," Yuvana said suddenly, surprising them both. "I mean, I'm supposed to guide heroes anyway, but... knowing who you really are, knowing what you're capable of..." Her wings began to flutter again, determination replacing her earlier shock. "Maybe together we can figure out why the system brought you back here."
Santer studied her for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "Fine. But first, I need to understand something else." His brow furrowed. "Do you know why I can see the Master's interface? That shouldn't be possible for a regular hero."
Yuvana's expression went blank before she replied, "No... I don't."
Santer sighed deeply. "Then follow me. I want to test something."
He began walking toward the edge of the safe zone.
"Hey, wait!" Yuvana called after him, alarm creeping into her voice. "You can't just go beyond the altar's protection!"
But Santer was already stepping past the boundary.