Sienna pressed a hand to her chest, her head spinning. Only two days had passed, yet she found herself falling for the young man standing before her. Looks, wealth, and ability—he was exceptional in every way. The only flaw was his low level and lack of raw power. But Sienna was certain that, given time, Aiden would become the kind of legend who could shake this continent to its very foundations. 'Ding! Sienna's favorability toward you has increased by 10.' The notification chimed in Aiden's ear without warning. He didn't so much as blink. He was used to it by now. … "Sorcerer! We need a Sorcerer! Four-man squad looking for a fifth!" "Veteran players here! We need two more! If you've got the guts, come grind slimes with us!""Any healers? We need a healer!" … The spawn points echoed with chaotic shouting and frantic negotiations. Once the initial shock wore off, plenty of people decided to venture beyond the city walls. Since logging out wasn't an option anyway, they figured they might as well do something besides stand around twiddling their thumbs. Taking the beta players' advice to heart, most formed parties before heading out. Of course, there were always the cocky few who considered themselves pro players and refused to listen. They brushed off every warning, went solo with full confidence, only to get ruthlessly clubbed by Goblins and sent straight back to the respawn point. The world of Doomsday was more alive than it had ever been, but in any crowd this size, there were bound to be a few idiots—the type who have zero respect for anything and look down on everyone. Whether it was the well-meaning guidance from beta players or the repeated warnings from the developers themselves, they dismissed it all, dead set on doing things their own way. Try not to get killed by monsters? Or else there will be severe consequences? What a joke. That was just a scare tactic for gullible kids. "You guys actually buy that garbage? It's obviously some massive conspiracy. Probably a stunt the capitalists cooked up. They can fool you mindless sheep at the bottom of the food chain, but they can't fool me." Jacob West was exactly that kind of person. No education. No money. He'd scraped by in the real world through petty theft and was no stranger to the back of a police car. Yet somehow, he possessed the most baffling sense of unearned confidence, convinced that he'd seen through the lies while everyone else stumbled around in the dark. "Come on, Jacob, be rational. You can't just pin everything on the capitalists. No capitalist has the kind of power to pull off something like this…" "Exactly. Did you get dropped on your head as a baby or something?" A few others tried to reason with him, urging him not to take the risk. "Give me a break. See, this is why people like you never get anywhere," Jacob sneered, completely dismissing them. "You've got no vision. You're destined for the bottom." He scoffed at their concern and swaggered toward the city gates. "I'll die just to prove a point to you cowards. It's just a crappy game. How the hell is it supposed to kill anyone?" With that, Jacob strutted out of the city. … Moments later, a Goblin bashed his skull in with a club, and he materialized back at the spawn point. "See? Nothing happened! It's all bullshit!" Jacob examined his intact limbs, gloating triumphantly. "Total nonsense." "Nah, man. They said you lose attributes when you die. Keep dying and your organs might fail. You've only died once," someone argued from the crowd. "Fine, you stubborn idiots. I'll die a few more times then." Jacob scoffed, determined to prove them wrong with his own life on the line. He was back at the spawn point in no time. Again, he seemed fine. Emboldened, he doubled down on his crusade to expose what he saw as the conspiracy. "Jacob, you look really pale. Maybe you should stop. Something bad is actually gonna happen." By his fourth death, anyone with eyes could tell something was wrong. Jacob looked frighteningly weak. "I'm fine." Truthfully, Jacob felt awful, but his pride wouldn't let him admit it. He waved a dismissive hand. "It's probably just motion sickness from the teleportation. You know, like feeling dizzy when you're riding in a car." With that, he went out to die again. … But this time, Jacob didn't come back. If a player died five times within six months, they were erased. Jacob had managed to hit that limit in a single day. Naturally, that was the end of the line for him.Even though he'd kicked the bucket, he did clarify the nature of the game for everyone else. In a grim sort of way, he'd made a contribution. "Holy shit… the player actually died?" "It's terrifying. A living, breathing person just vanished from the game?" The players gathered at the spawn point went pale. They'd heard the warnings from the beta players and the official announcements. They knew death wasn't to be taken lightly, but actually witnessing Jacob's permanent erasure with their own eyes was a different story entirely. "What do I do? I just went out to watch Jacob die, and I got killed too! Am I gonna die here? I don't wanna die!" "I died too! Twice! I'm screwed…" "No… no…" "Don't go out! Whatever you do, don't leave the city!" Most people were safe, but a small fraction had refused to listen. And for that, they'd paid a terrible price.While most people in the world had common sense, given Grendola's massive population, there were still plenty of people just like Jacob. Soon, across the various spawn points, reports trickled in—players who'd died too many times and never came back.