Chapter Three: The Grand Map

Just as Liu Zong was about to rest, a strange light suddenly flickered on the opposite wall. Turning his head, he saw the shadowy figure of a young man about his own age appear upon the surface.

"Liu Zong, hurry over here, there’s a big mission," the figure called out.

Liu Zong paused in surprise, then shouted with excitement, "Give me the coordinates, I’ll come right away!"

"What coordinates? Just come to the school! This is truly a major operation; the principal has summoned every student," the apparition replied loudly.

Hearing this, Liu Zong was momentarily stunned, but then dashed toward the wall that recorded his data and crashed straight into it.

Curiously enough, though the wall seemed solid, the instant Liu Zong reached it, he passed through as if diving into a curtain of water, emerging from his room into the street outside.

The street was peculiar—there were no buildings at all, only identical wooden doors lined up on either side. Each door was bare of decoration, and all were constantly shifting their positions, so no one could tell which door led to which room.

At the end of the street stood a gigantic disc the size of a soccer field, above which hovered a massive sphere of light.

Liu Zong moved swiftly; in the blink of an eye he reached the edge of the disc. As soon as he set foot on it, a beam of white light coalesced before him, forming the shape of a person.

"Where do you wish to go?" the figure inquired.

As Liu Zong produced a card, he replied, "I am a student of Yang City’s Third Secondary School, Class of 42973, player number DS-54370681-157. I just received word—the principal has issued a summons. I need to return to school as quickly as possible."

A ray of light shot from the figure’s eyes, scanning Liu Zong’s card. Then it nodded and said, "Identity confirmed. The principal of your school has indeed issued a summons. An emergency passage has been opened for you all; it’s in Sector Seven. Proceed there directly."

The figure stepped aside, making way.

Liu Zong thanked the apparition and hurried in the indicated direction. In his eyes, a patch of white light was pulsing on the disc.

As soon as he stepped into the light, Liu Zong felt as though something had sucked him into another space. In an instant, he found himself transported to a wilderness shrouded in blue radiance.

Looking up at the blue canopy above, Liu Zong’s confusion deepened. This wasn’t his first time entering the game world, but he had never encountered a waiting light-screen like this. Rumor had it such screens only appeared when new maps opened. Could this desolate expanse be a new map within Yang City’s district?

While Liu Zong pondered, group after group of young people began to converge from all directions. They all appeared to be in their twenties, yet their eyes betrayed the traces of passing years.

Most of those assembled beneath the blue light had skin so pale it bordered on bluish; some even sported dark circles beneath their eyes. Many wore long black robes, some clutching wands of bone or wood.

Liu Zong scanned the crowd and recognized most of them—they were all affinity students of the shadow arts from Yang City’s Third Secondary School.

As Liu Zong observed, the shadowy figure who had summoned him reappeared, but this time, he was no longer an apparition. Instead, a young man, slightly older and more mature than Liu Zong, approached.

"Liu Zong, you finally made it! I was worried you’d be late," the youth greeted him, clapping him heartily on the shoulder. "Stick with me later—there are great benefits to be had this time."

"Senior Liu, what’s going on? Even our oldest alumni, nearly sixty, have been called back," Liu Zong asked.

This young man, Liu Chun, was a student from the class of 42963—about ten years Liu Zong’s senior—and one of his closest friends at the school. Their bond was forged by their shared primary affinity: both possessed dual attunement to shadow magic and martial prowess. This trait was unique to the two of them among all the school’s students; on the path of combining arcane and martial disciplines, Liu Chun’s guidance had far surpassed that of their instructors.

Hearing Liu Zong’s question, Liu Chun grinned with pride. "Let me tell you, this new student map is huge. Three villages, a main city, five five-player instances, a twenty-player raid, and a forty-player grand raid. If we conquer it, our school will be eligible to upgrade to Yang City’s Second Secondary School. Now you see why the principal called everyone back."

Liu Zong nodded, his expression growing serious. The game world was not limitless—every map had a cap on the number of entrants, and each map’s lifespan was finite. When the resources of a map were exhausted, it ceased to benefit players and was eventually discarded, abandoned in a place known as the Bone Wastes to decay.

The place where Liu Zong had previously served as bait was close to such a forsaken region. Maps that allowed for safe player advancement, however, were tightly controlled by the city’s various powers. Yang City’s Third Secondary School, after so many years, possessed only two large maps and three medium ones.

Because of this, Liu Zong had often been forced to risk himself in the dangerous borderlands near the Bone Wastes, or earn money by completing tasks on maps controlled by rival factions.

Now, with a new large map appearing before them, it wasn’t just the principal who stood to benefit; for the students, it meant a new place to earn resources and complete missions. Unlike other factions, who would claim half the spoils outright, the school would surely offer greater rewards to those who helped secure the map. Perhaps, they might even get the chance to experience a legendary dungeon before officially becoming full-fledged players.

Seeing Liu Zong’s grave expression, Liu Chun understood what was on his mind and whispered, "I heard this new map is themed around an undead invasion—you know what that means."

Catching the glint in Liu Chun’s eye, Liu Zong nodded emphatically.

Just then, three men in black robes stepped through the light-screen. At their arrival, all the students hurried forward, greeting them respectfully. Even Liu Chun bowed his head in their direction.

These were the arcane instructors of the shadow affinity class at Yang City’s Third Secondary School, all of them at least Level 1 (eight-star) in power.

When they reached the crowd, the trio halted. The one in the center spoke directly, "Students, we must unite for the sake of Yang City’s Third Secondary School."

"For Yang City’s Third Secondary School!" came the resounding response from the students.

Once the shouts had died down, the lead instructor raised his hand for silence. "We’ve been given the first opportunity to enter this new map, which has been identified as the Land of Desolation. According to our information, this is the graveyard of the Behemoths. When their time comes, all Behemoths come here to await death. The three villages and the main city on the map were built by their symbiotic clans, whose sole purpose is to prevent outsiders from disturbing the Behemoths’ slumber. The details of the instances are still being explored. It is confirmed that the forty-player grand raid is directly beneath the Behemoth graveyard in the heart of the map. Of course, that doesn’t concern us for now. Our shadow affinity class is tasked with gathering enough fodder to secure this large map."

Casting a glance around at the eager faces, the instructor nodded with satisfaction and continued, "The principal has promised that, should we accomplish our mission, every student will have a chance to enter one of the five-player instances."

At this, the students erupted in cheers, their voices nearly shattering the blue dome above.

Once order was restored, the instructor gave further instructions. "Those with martial shadow affinity, follow Teacher Xu and prepare. Those with magical shadow affinity, get ready to set up the undead summoning array. Liu Chun, and you—ah, Liu Zong—you two, come with me."

Both Liu Chun and Liu Zong were surprised to be singled out, but they quickly slipped through the crowd to the instructor’s side.

Once before him, they bowed their heads respectfully. "Good day, Teacher Zhang."

Teacher Zhang scrutinized them, then sighed. "There’s a mission—it’s rather dangerous..."

Before he could finish, both Liu Chun and Liu Zong spoke in unison, "We accept."