Mize read it once. Then again.
The words blurred slightly at the edges, sinking into him like a slow poison.
"...A research paper? Sounds nerdy" he muttered, voice dry.
Liam let out a quiet chuckle. "That's what most people called it too."
Mize scrolled down, his mind spinning as he skimmed through the thousands of responses beneath it.
Even the top-ranked lords had agreed with the theory, some had even built upon it.
After all, it seemed the game didn't just happen in some of the worlds.
Instead, all of the worlds with the human race in them just so happened to have this game that became famous overnight.
It was extremely obvious, but it was rather hard to prove.
After all, who in their right mind would share the similarities of a game in their world with other people in the global chat in a world filled with danger and death.
But to the fact some of these lords managed to pick it up, this level of geniuses.
"So, they knew?" His fingers tapped idly against the armrest. "Some of them figured it out way before you posted this, didn't they?"
Liam leaned back slightly, his expression unreadable. "A few, yeah. But most were still in denial. I just laid it out clearly within the first few hours"
"After all, the way how this warp was constructed is just too familiar for me not to relate it with the game"
Mize exhaled slowly, his grip tightening slightly over his lap. His nails traced invisible lines against the fabric of his dress.
"So everything makes sense now... "
Everything clicked into place.
The mechanics, the resources, the ranking system, the absurd power-ups, even the ridiculous "whale" advantage…
This wasn't just inspired by a game.
This was the game.
And he had been playing it this entire time without realizing it.
Liam's voice cut through his spiraling thoughts.
"Now that you know," he said smoothly, watching him closely, "what will you do next?"
"Perhaps using your knowledge of the game and taking advantage of the game mechanics?"
Mize shook his head, letting out a soft chuckle. His smile, genuine, felt like the first real moment of clarity he'd had all day.
"If the warp is running on that game's mechanics, then I think I'll survive just fine"
"I wouldn't need to worry much about the game itself in the early stage... But the players, they are the only ones we should be worrying about"
Liam's eyes gleamed with interest. "The players, yeah... Though judging from your tone... you played it for a while, huh? My cute Mimi Sounds like an experienced gamer"
"Yeah… " Mize muttered, pausing for a moment as his gaze drifted lazily over the moving landscape.
Then, as if deciding something, he continued, "I wasn't a whale or anything, but I wasn't just a casual player either."
"Ah, so a shark then?" Liam smirked, tilting his head to the side, resting his chin against his hand as he watched Mize with amusement.
Mize mirrored him, elbow propped up, cheek resting against his palm, a teasing grin playing at the corners of his lips. "How about you? Were you a whale?"
Liam hummed in thought, fingers tapping against his chin, dragging out the silence just to mess with him. "I did spend quite a lot of money on the game… but I wasn't sure if I counted as a whale or not."
Mize's eye twitched. "If you were in the top ten of your server, you are a whale, Liam. Don't even try to pretend otherwise"
"Remember the time when you tried to buy me the food at the cafeteria several days ago? That's expensive... And you say you could afford it, so I am pretty sure you are a whale"
"Then I suppose I was a dragon, huh?" Liam winked.
Mize blinked. "A dragon? What kind of ridiculous ranking is that?"
"I have never heard of that term before"
Liam didn't answer immediately. Instead, he shifted closer, body leaning in ever so slightly.
Close.
Too close.
Mize stiffened.
The deep gold of Liam's eyes bore into him, his breath warm against his skin.
Every inch of Mize's body screamed at him to retreat, but his pride wouldn't allow it, at least, not immediately.
But then Liam smirked. That smirk.
Mize immediately scooted back, eyes darting away "What's with that look?"
Liam chuckled, finally taking mercy on him. "It means I wasn't just in the top ten of my server, Mimi. I was in the top ten of all servers."
Mize's brain blanked for a moment.
Top ten. Of all servers.
"…Shouldn't we change the title then? Something like, 'The Dragon-Level Player Returns After a Thousand Years' or something?"
Liam raised a brow, clearly entertained. "You can write it yourself if you want. Maybe I'll even read it."
Before Mize could respond, Liam leaned in again, not to tease this time, but to press a light kiss against his forehead.
Soft. Familiar. Dangerous.
And a bit wet?
Hcch!
Mize swore his face must've been glowing at this point. Heat rushed up his neck, his ears burning.
Desperate for an escape, he waved his hands in front of his face, fanning away the imaginary warmth. "W-well… since you're such a powerful player, why haven't you upgraded the territory yet?!"
"Orrr"
"Oh is Mr dragon of the top ten of the whole game couldn't play the game properly? You lost your memory or something?"
Liam didn't respond immediately. Instead, he stretched out his leg, resting one hand on his knee, completely relaxed.
"It's part of my early-game strategy."
Mize squinted. "A strategy? Now you really sound like some nerd in a cosplay con"
"Sure princesss"
Liam chuckled but didn't deny it.
Instead, his gaze shifted forward, watching the army march below as the mechanical hum of the moving throne filled the silence.
"Most lords rush their levels in the early game for one reason."
"And that reason is?" Mize leaned in slightly.
"They lack what I have."
Liam spread his arms out slightly, gesturing toward the vast sea of soldiers stretching beneath them. "They need power to survive. I don't"
Mize's lips parted slightly as realization dawned. So that's why…
"Instead of wasting resources upgrading the Lord's Core early," Liam continued, "I funneled everything into fortifications instead. Walls. Defensive structures. Things that would ensure no one could touch my territory, no matter how strong they got."
"And for another reason, it's for the upcoming events too"
Mize sucked in a breath. So that's why the walls were endless.
"You surrounded the entire territory with them?"
Liam shook his head, motioning toward the horizon. "Not anymore. Not after the merging. Now there's an extra 10km buffer area outside it before the dome"
"The dome?"
Mize followed his gaze. And then he saw it.
A faint, shimmering dome stretching across the edge of the land, barely visible but undeniably there.
"The barrier separating our territory from the outside world," Liam murmured.
Mize swallowed, his fingers tightening against the armrest.
This… was bigger than he thought.
The army pressed forward, undeterred by the shimmering dome ahead. Liam barely spared it a glance, but Mize… Mize wasn't so casual about it.
A wall of light spanning the entire horizon, if he didn't know any better, he'd think they were about to walk face-first into a barrier.
But that worry died fast.
The soldiers had crossed this dome hundreds of times in the past three days.
Liam had already explained it.
The vast amount of resource points inside the territory? Proof of it.
And now, standing before it himself, Mize braced instinctively as the edge of the dome met his skin.
Swoosh…
The film passed through him like cool water running over his body. His eyes squinted shut, arms clasped as the strange sensation lingered for a breath, then vanished.
And when he opened his eyes.
The world changed.
Gone was the lush greenery, the vast plains stretching in endless waves of emerald.
In its place, barren land. Cracked earth.
A dry, desolate expanse, where the soil lay broken and thirsty, and what few plants managed to survive were withered, clinging desperately to life.
An apocalypse.
Liam exhaled softly, looking over the wasteland. "Welcome… to the warp."
Mize didn't respond right away. His breath hitched, eyes scanning the landscape in silent disbelief.
The game… The one he played before coming here… The maps, the colors, the mechanics.
None of it had ever felt real.
On the game screen, everything outside the territories was just tinted brown and gray, maybe with a few sparse patches of green in the center of the server. It was all just… aesthetics.
But seeing it in person, standing in the middle of it.
It wasn't just barren. It wasn't just dull.
It was lifeless.
"Despairing, isn't it?" Liam chuckled lightly, watching the seamless march of his army as they moved toward their target, a tier 4 secret realm, marked kilometers away.
Mize didn't answer right away. His fingers curled slightly, thoughts drifting.
No wonder.
No wonder, back when he was still managing things inside the town, there had been so many refugees pouring in.
They weren't just seeking a better life.
They were running.
"…They were looking for a place to live," Mize muttered under his breath. His voice was light, but the weight of realization was heavy against his chest.
He exhaled, shoulders dropping slightly.
'And I turned them away'
His resources had been limited.
There simply wasn't enough to take in everyone who begged for shelter.
And now, looking at this landscape.
Did they die?
Here?
His hands clenched slightly, but Liam's voice broke through the heaviness settling over his mind.
"To them," Liam said softly, gaze cast over the distant wasteland, "the Lords' territories, places like ours, are beacons of hope."
Mize didn't look at him. His eyes remained fixed ahead, at the miles of cracked earth, at the horizon that stretched endlessly, offering no solace.
"They never asked to be born into this world," Liam continued. "None of them did. But the warp doesn't care about fairness. It doesn't follow logic"
Mize scoffed, bitterness creeping into his voice. "You mean it just kidnaps people from other worlds to fill its ranks?"
Liam smirked, though his gaze remained distant. "No."
"Then what?" Mize demanded.
Liam turned to him, golden eyes gleaming with something unreadable.
"The birthrate of humanity here is unnatural," he said. "A thousand die? A hundred thousand are born the next day. The warp ensures there will always be more."
Mize froze.
His stomach twisted, unease creeping in like a slow tide.
"Including us," Liam added smoothly, gaze sweeping down, lingering.
Mize's head snapped toward him, eyes burning. "Look look! I will gouge your eyes out!"
Liam only chuckled. "Just saying, the warp is quite generous when it comes to repopulation."
"Pervert," Mize hissed, arms crossed, glaring daggers.
Liam smiled. "Your pervert."
Mize clicked his tongue, looking away, though the redness on his ears didn't go unnoticed.