Chương 1: An Accidental Divine Theft

Ch 01 - An Accidental Divine Theft

"The hole's too tight. Try getting it wet first. It'll slide in more easily."

"If that doesn't work, kick his ass and force it in."

"Ow! Damn it! Don't kick so hard! My ass hurts, idiot!" Jester cried out in pain as they kept shoving and kicking him from behind. Three players dressed in elegant black armor stood at the base of a towering cliff, gathered around a tiny burrow hidden among the rocks. Sticking out from the narrow opening was what looked like the lower half of someone's body, only it was about the size of an adult cat. Only his legs and backside remained outside while the rest of him had already disappeared into the burrow.

"Jester, can't you shrink any smaller?" one of them asked.

"Idiot! What do you think I am? This is as small as I can get!" Jester shouted, his voice muffled from deep inside the tunnel.

"Kick him again."

"Push his butt." Without another word, they resumed their assault, kicking and shoving him over and over until the last bit of his tiny body finally slipped through the narrow opening.

"There! He's in."

"Jester, don't forget to start the livestream. If you keep all the good stuff to yourself, I'll kill you, you idiot." Jester was thrown over and over again, his body rolling helplessly as he became trapped inside that endless darkness. A series of notifications appeared before his eyes. [You have entered the Hidden Sanctuary.] [An ancient sacred domain long forgotten by the world.] [You have earned the title: The First Intruder.] [Reward: +10 Strength, +10 Magic, +15 Luck.] [Additional rewards are currently under evaluation.] [Please wait...]"Wait... what? Rewards this generous? I even got fifteen points of Luck?" Jester stared at the notification in disbelief.

"Damn, isn't this a little too generous? The developers might actually take these rewards back if they realize what they've given me." Just entering this cave had already earned him something this incredible. More importantly, how the hell had those three idiots managed to find a place like this? What had those idiot players been talking about earlier, anyway? They were the kind of players who had been spoiled by wealthy parents, always spending their allowance at the game center instead of going to school.

They had dragged Jester away while he was working and forced him to log into the game and come with them. Jester let out a quiet sigh. He was only Level 10, and that number barely meant anything. He almost never played the game. He simply didn't have the time. More importantly, he couldn't afford to rent a game capsule. Those three idiot players had told him that all he needed to do was explore the cave and record everything he found inside.

In return, they promised to give him vouchers worth one hundred hours of game capsule rental.

"Why are they being so generous? Just what's hidden inside this cave?" Eternal Legacy was a virtual reality MMORPG that assigned every player a class and even a race based on their real-life characteristics through its advanced analysis system. For some reason, he had ended up with the Clown class. His appearance was still completely human, matching his real eighteen-year-old body. However, the special ability of the Clown class allowed him to shrink himself into a tiny size. And….

that was literally all it could do! It was practically useless, which was why he had never been able to hunt monsters properly or level up like everyone else. Still, if those one hundred hours of game capsule time were real, maybe he could finally raise his level. Even reaching Level 20 would already be more than enough. That wouldn't be so bad, would it? Jester continued walking for a while through the tunnel. Although it was quite dark, his eyes were different from those of players with the normal Human race.

Even in the darkness, he could still make out the rough cave walls and follow the sound of flowing water somewhere nearby. A short while later, he emerged into a much wider section of the cave. It was more like a large cavern, with a stream running through it and a faint source of light shining from the far side. That had to be the cave's exit. Now that there was enough light, Jester immediately opened his game panel and pressed the Record button. [Recording is unavailable in this area.]"Why?"

If he couldn't record anything, wouldn't those idiot players refuse to give him the reward they had promised? He pressed the button several more times, but nothing changed. It looked like recording was simply prohibited in this area. Jester continued following the stream until he finally stepped out of the cave and found himself staring at... Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.... a vast forest stretching out before him.

"So this is just another part of the same forest, beyond the cliff." He continued walking for a while, following the flow of the river, until he faintly heard something. It sounded like... people talking. He stopped in his tracks. [The duration of the Pocket Form skill has ended. Returning to normal size.] His body rapidly expanded, returning to its original size. As he stood at full height again, his appearance became clear.

His messy orange hair stuck out in every direction, framing a round red clown nose that gave him a permanently ridiculous look. He wore a loose white shirt tucked into an oversized pair of baggy trousers, and a pair of comically oversized clown shoes completed the outfit. Then, without warning, he clutched his chest.

"Why?!"

"It hurts!" He collapsed face-first onto the ground, rolling several times before slamming into a large boulder nearby. Jester tried to take a deep breath, but he couldn't. His chest tightened as though no air would enter his lungs. He tried to inhale, but no air came. His mouth opened and closed desperately as his chest heaved, panic digging its claws deeper into him. Calm down... calm down... This is just a fake sensation. I'm practically inside a game. My real body should be perfectly fine.

Jester grabbed his jaw before pressing a trembling hand against his chest as his lungs burned with unbearable pain. The pressure continued to build, yet not a single breath would enter his body. His hand shot out and grabbed something nearby. He clutched it tightly, instinctively pressing it against his face. The moment he did, a soft, sweet fragrance filled his senses. Then, without warning, his eyes flew open.

His heart gave a violent jolt before settling into a steady rhythm, and air rushed back into his lungs as though an invisible hand had finally released its grip from his throat. Jester gasped sharply, drawing in one desperate breath after another. Warmth spread through his body. It had happened so suddenly that his mind struggled to keep up.

"What... what just happened?" He lowered his gaze to his hand, staring at what he was holding as his mind raced. There, crumpled in his trembling grasp, was a piece of white cloth.

"What's this...?" He carefully unfolded it. The fabric was long, smooth, and exquisitely made. The same heavenly fragrance still lingered on it, the scent that had somehow pulled him back from the edge of death. Did he grab this by accident while he was panicking? He slowly turned his head and narrowed his eyes. Just beyond the rock, a waterfall poured down with tremendous force, sending mist drifting through the air. Then… Something else caught his attention. He frowned and focused his hearing. There it was.

Laughter, bright and clear, mixed with cheerful chatter. Women's voices. Not just one… several of them.

"Where are they coming from?" Jester crouched low, crawling carefully along the rock's side. He leaned forward, slow and quiet, until he could peek past the edge of the boulder. And what he saw made his eyes widen in shock. He instantly pulled back and pressed his back to the rock again, frozen, his heart thudding like crazy. Women. Definitely women, seven of them. They were bathing in the river, laughing and splashing water at each other without a care in the world. Jester swallowed hard.

If those women noticed him now, crouched behind a rock while they were bathing, there'd be no explaining himself out of it. To them, he'd look like nothing but a pervert spying on naked women. Jester examined the fabric in his hand again, a thought creeping into his mind. Could this belong to one of those women? Before he could react further, a glowing message appeared before his eyes. [Forced Logout detected. An external force is overriding your connection. Disconnecting immediately.] [3...] [2...] [1...] Before Jester could do anything, darkness swallowed everything. ** A mechanical hiss echoed as the capsule slowly unlocked. But the moment the lid opened, a hand shot inside, grabbed him by the collar, and yanked him forward while another forcefully pulled the helmet from his head.

"Toma! What the hell were you doing? Where's the video recording?" Three boys, each looking several times bigger than him, yanked him out of the game capsule. One of them even lifted him off the ground by his collar.

"The system doesn't allow recordings inside the game." Toma said.

"Damn it! You expect us to believe that stupid excuse?"

"I'm telling you the truth. That's exactly what happened."

"What did you see there?" asked the blond boy with the unusually large nostrils.

"A river. A forest."

"Idiot!" The boy threw Toma backward, sending him stumbling across the floor.

"You still owe us the capsule rental fee! Be back here tomorrow. If you're not, we'll beat the hell out of you!"

"You were the ones who dragged me here. You should be the ones paying!"

"Shut up! The deal's off. You're not getting your reward." The other two boys stepped closer as well, surrounding him and cutting off any way out.

"Don't even think about running. We'll find you. And if you try anything stupid, you'll regret it." Toma clenched both fists but said nothing for a moment.

"Get out of my way, idiot." Toma turned toward a small locker beside the capsules. He opened it, pulled out a worn backpack, then picked up a messy orange clown wig before closing the locker.

"Get lost, clown!" one of the boys shouted after him.

"Go earn some money performing on the streets. And don't forget to bring me the rental fee tomorrow!" Toma dragged his feet as he walked. The game center was far more crowded than usual today. Before long, several people suddenly burst into excited shouts.

"Holy crap! Something unbelievable is happening inside the game!" They quickly gathered around each other, talking over one another in excitement.

"It's about the Seven Calamities! Apparently, something huge happened involving them. Damn, what the hell happened?"

"They're saying a Divine Quest is going to be given to several players. This sounds insane."

"No way! The developers didn't announce anything." Hearing those words, Toma froze for a moment and swallowed hard. Could they possibly be talking about him? No... that couldn't be it. He quietly put on his messy orange clown wig. His face was already covered in white face paint, and a round red clown nose completed the look. Only then did he leave the game center. ** The riverside forest buzzed with cheerful chatter over the steady rush of water.

"Zetia... how is your skin always so flawless? I'm honestly jealous," one of them teased, drawing another round of laughter from the group as they relaxed in the cool current.

"I think we should head back soon," one of them said after a while.

"It's almost nightfall. We shouldn't stay in the mortal world for too long." Still laughing and teasing one another, they slowly stepped out of the water, their bodies wrapped only in thin white cloths covering their waists and chests. The moment their feet touched the riverbank, soft light rippled across their skin. In an instant, the glow transformed into elegant garments and finely crafted armor.

They walked toward a large boulder beside the river, where each of them retrieved the belongings they had left behind.

"Zetia, what's wrong?" one of them asked. The silver-haired girl, dressed in a short white-and-gold dress, looked around with a confused expression.

"I can't find my veil."

"Your veil? How?" another asked.

"Check again carefully."

"Are you sure you left it here?"

"Yes. I placed it with everyone else's."

"Could someone have taken it?" One of the women frowned.

"I didn't sense anyone approaching." She fell silent for a moment before her expression changed.

"No... actually, something did appear for a brief moment. But its presence was unbelievably weak. Like a tiny insect... no, even weaker than that." The group exchanged uneasy glances. Their expressions grew tense.

"We need to leave now," one of them said.

"But Zetia can't return without her veil."

"It's fine," Zetia said.

"I'll stay behind and search for it. I'll catch up with all of you afterward."

"Are you sure? You'll be in trouble if you don't make it back in time."

"I don't have much choice. If you all stay here because of me, you'll only get in trouble too." After a brief hesitation, the other six nodded. They slowly lifted into the air, lingering for a moment as they looked at Zetia with quiet concern. Then, one by one, they flew off until they disappeared into the evening sky, leaving the silver-haired girl standing alone beside the river.

"Someone has taken my veil..." Her voice was barely above a whisper, and her lips trembled as she spoke.

"How could this happen...?" She lowered her head, her face filled with despair.

"Someone has taken my Divinity." Her hands slowly curled into fists.

"It'll only return to me if that person dies."

"But..." She let out a long, weary sigh.

"He's a player, one of those beings from another world who simply comes back to life whenever they're killed."

"I'm in serious trouble!"