Re-Awakening: I Became a Pay To Win Boss Monster

Rael's vision shifted and returned moments later, causing his brows to furrow further.

When he looked up, he saw the Earth, or rather, what was left of it.

It was an interesting sight, and it confirmed Todd's earlier theories.

After all, it seemed like a meteorite had struck Seoul, as the entire world around it was either mountainous or completely desolate and abandoned.

It was disturbing, but as he took a closer look, he realized a few peculiarities.

There were a few areas dozens of kilometers away from Seoul, and each one resembled a massive kingdom.

There was a desert not too far away where a giant kingdom was forming. Then a bit down below, he saw giant forests on an island, and through the forest canopy, a thin spire.

A bit further ahead, he spotted corrupted land where the soil had turned black, and to the very left, a snowy kingdom that seemed much more advanced than the others.

Rael was surprised he could make out these details from so far away, but that was when his eyes began to hurt, so he had no choice but to close them to recover.

Yet once he reopened them, he realized the Earth seemed far away again, a stark contrast to his earlier clarity.

Despite all that, Rael felt a bit conflicted, and it was because of one thing in particular.

A city in a crater... a desert to the side, below is an island with trees and thin spires... above is a corrupted land, and to the left is a snowy biome.

It all resembled one area in particular, and it was none other than the continent Rael had been living on for quite some time.

The Dralgur Continent.

As big of a coincidence as it was, Seoul seemed to represent Celestara, and the others were Aztera, the land of elves Velurei, then the Demonic Lands, and finally, Yrgon.

Could the world of Sketa Online just be Earth... but much further in the future...? How would that even work? Rael theorized. The resemblance is uncanny, but it's too early to come to conclusions.

Still, he calmed down and took a good glance around the area he found himself in.

The entire ground was charred crimson, and circling him were a bunch of stands, representing seats for spectators inside an arena.

Yet the arena was far too large, comically so, as glowing obsidian structures outlined and stretched high into the sky.

The gravity also felt a bit off. When he stood still, he felt weightless, yet when he moved, he felt heavy.

This was definitely not the moon he'd heard of, which meant that this Blood Moon he found himself on was artificial.

Bit by bit, the others started appearing: Rain, Alisa, Maria.

Jane and Julian appeared as well, looking equally confused.

In the far-off distance, two other groups appeared, yet their numbers were a bit...

Fuck... did they all settle down in survivor camps or some shit? Why are there so many of them?

He couldn't ponder for long as the pressure weighing down on him suddenly increased, and in the very next moment, he heard several loud thuds.

Rael was puzzled for a moment, but he soon realized what was happening.

All sorts of beings began to appear, sitting down in their seats.

Their figures ranged from little children to monstrous lions, but even then, Rael could surmise that these people were all gods.

The pressure kept increasing as more and more of them appeared, yet he couldn't really tell their appearance apart.

After all, they wore some kind of mask that obscured their faces, distorting them slightly.

When it seemed like everyone had finally gathered, the pressure spiked, then settled.

That pressure, however, came from two figures who suddenly appeared.

The first was a man with long platinum hair. His presence alone made Rael's chest tighten. The second was a woman with equally long white hair. She carried herself with dignity, and she seemed nearly as strong as the man.

He couldn't make out their facial features, since it felt like his mind was being scrambled every time he tried, but even so, the pressure they emitted seemed to triumph above everyone else who was present.

Rael felt like he knew these two. He just couldn't figure out from where.

A few moments passed, and when it seemed like no one else was coming, a countdown appeared.

<The Blood Moon Arena has been activated!>

<Starting In: 30 seconds.>

<Objective: Kill the Chosen Heroes>

<Reward: x1 Epic Ranked Random Skill>

As the last of the pop-ups flashed in front of them, Rael turned around, meeting the confused looks of his team.

"Maria..." Rael called out, grumbling. "You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

"Obviously," Maria replied matter-of-factly. "You are strong, so it's only natural I'd like someone like you to be beside me... especially now that my own teammates are trying to kill me."

Of course, Rain's earlier malice hadn't faded in the slightest, and it seemed like after regaining her senses, Alisa thought of Maria as her enemy as well.

Nevertheless, Rael stepped forward, glancing at each one of them.

"Listen... I'm not going to repeat what I said yesterday. But since I do wish to kind of survive through this, I want you all to focus," he said sternly. "No fighting each other. I repeat, no fighting each other."

With those simple words in mind, he turned back to Jane and Julian.

"We kind of got roped into this, but since we don't really have much of a choice, we need to make sure these three idiots win, yeah?"

"Of course..." Jane replied silently.

As for Julian, he simply stared toward the enemies and pulled out his sword, holding it like a seasoned swordsman.

But in reality, Julian was the worst swordsman Rael had ever seen.

He could probably hand a sword to a toddler, and it would still be a better swordsman.

Even so, now that they were ready, they waited patiently for the timer to hit zero.

<00:24>

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<00:02>

<00:01>

<00:00>

<Ding!>