Sure, taking the back roads and cutting through wild terrain might have taken longer for the average person to trudge through, but it seemed like just another day for Vega. The main road to his destination was just too dangerous to take right now. It was probably already flooded with other players. With all the panic and everyone in a kill-or-be-killed state of mind right now, crowds were defiantly not the safest place to hang out in. Vega had to somehow get to the Bear Forest near Silva. That was basically his safe haven and where he felt most comfortable.

With all of his high-end gear now nothing but a fond memory, he somehow felt a bit naked. He was vulnerable and he knew it. But at least he had a simple dark hooded cloak that would provide some sort of camouflage in the shadows. With Silva now on the horizon, Vega carefully pulled out his starter crossbow and loaded a bolt. He was entering a populated area and he didn't know what to expect from the other players that were inevitably already there. "Well, here goes nothing." he encouraged himself as he marched onward towards the city and his beloved forest.

Lawrence was out in the mountains tackling one of the higher end bosses by himself. Things were going well, he had beaten this boss a few times before and was merely doing it to get some XP and higher end armor drops. The beasts massive claw dove towards Lawrence, he quickly dodged the blow simultaneously slashing at the beasts hand. He was doing well and was looking forward to going back to town and to use the blacksmithing station to forge some armor to sell.

Lawrence was close to dealing the killing blow to the foul creature. Lawrence burst forward and quickly leaped into the air preparing his sword to pierce the beasts head. Mere moments before his sword made contact all his High End gear vanished. His mighty sword was replaced with a simple starter sword, the simple sword struck the beasts forehead and bounced off without causing any damage. Dropping to the ground Lawrence didn't know what to do he was back to level 1 and had no gear. The mighty beast lunged towards Lawrence, he was all but certain he was about to be killed. Lawrence closed his eyes and braced for the worst.

He was braced for what seemed like forever, opening his eyes he was shocked to see that he was back in the main square "What the?" There seemed to be thousands of other players there too, Lawrence was confused but then the Game Master appeared and made everything clear. Panic erupted as people ran around the Main Square trying to buy as many items as they could. Lawrence rushed out of the town he knew with everyone in this mass of panic it would only hinder him at the moment. Out of the major cities he decided that Silva was his best option to head to. Quickly making his way there he killed whatever small creatures he could find in hope of find some low level armor or even food. Luckily he found some fruit and a small wooden shield. "Well at least I'm not totally defenseless now." Lawrence put on the shield and proceeded to make his way to Silva.

Annwyn kept against the walls of the city to avoid being pulled into an unnecessary quarrel. Even though he had years of experience under his belt and knew his way through any battle, he would be an idiot to face a group of chaotic players whom were enraged and fearful. Especially with the all to real risk that was now part of this insane game.
After a few minutes of awkward skulking behind the crowd he was finally outside of the city walls into the Delta Plains which were just as busy as Nova. Hundreds of people trying to get some money drops from the low level creatures that inhabited the area, shoving, prodding and yelling at each other, blaming others for 'kill stealing'. He let out a heavy sigh, and continued walking onward. Stopping a few times to kill small beasts in hopes of a food drop, only managing to find a 'Bruised Apple' which offered very little nutrition. Hunger aside, he stayed steadfast on his path to Silva. Perhaps there he would find a familiar face, or a quieter spot to train. It was a stretch, but certainly worth a shot.

Refa rushed through the streets and alleyways of Nova City to get further away from crowd. After she could see only few more players rushing out just like her, she opened her inventory and found one item which every newbie had - game manual. Quickly she pressed the button and book visualized in her hands. Refa had read manual many times bafore so she already knew what she needed. After flipping few pages she opened the map of Terra. Right now Refa had to get to other city where she could really start the game.

There were four cities connected to Nova - Silva, Dulre, Flos and Herba. Refa wouldn't go to Dulre and Herba because those two areas are well supplied and most likely when players realize that there are not enough resources, they're going to go there. The best choice was Silva, because around was Bear Forest which was quite a dangerous region for newbies, however since Refa already knew the game, it wouldn't be a problem surviving there even at low levels.

Without any more ado Refa put game manual back in inventory and turned south-west to get to Silva. She saw as other players headed north or east just like she had expected. As Refa ran through streets of Nova, she could hear the noise coming from players rampaging in the square. Most likely few lives were already lost at the stampede. It made Refa sad to think that some players will never meet their families and friends. They never had a chance to say goodbye or say sorry for their mistakes. That made Refa really irritated. She will make that crazy Game Master pay for what he has done.

As Refa made her way out of Nova, voices coming from square grew quieter until they completely vanished. She stopped running to see open Delta Plains and Nova City behind her. She was alone, but that's how it had to be. If she was to take anyone along, the other player would only slow her down. If Refa wants to free everyone she has to become stronger and play alone.

As gentle breeze combed Refa's fiery bangs, she slowly started marching towards Silva without looking back. The death game has began and she had to survive in order to save everyone. Although Refa was born only because of Reena's desire to become more open and gain new friends, she could not just sit and watch as people die. Refa herself had died during boss fights several times so now she had to be more careful and well prepared, because nobody knew what each of bosses might bring.

Trudging through the think undergrowth, Vega slowly made his way through the thick forest. It was just another day in ACO thus-far: doing gathering quests, tracking giant creatures chock-full of experience points...the usual stuff. Right now though, he was headed toward the nearest settlement to pick up some much-needed supplies.

It began with a strange tingling sensation in his extremities. A faint glow began to emit from Vega's body and in an instant, was teleported to the Main Square. The sight before Vega took the breath right out of him: there appeared to be an endless sea of people, milling about in chaos. But then, all was quiet as the Game Master revealed his message. Vega's jaw hit the floor. "What the..." he muttered to himself under his breath, "No. No, no, no...this isn't happening. This can't be happening.". A flash of panic made its way through Vega's body as he realized the impact of the GM's statement. It was then that he finally realized something didn't feel right. He dared to look down at himself and realized something terrible. Everything that he had worked for...was gone. His armor, his abilities and even his favorite weapon just vanished.

As the Game Master vanished and the chaos began again, all Vega could focus on was loss. All he had were some starter clothes, a dinky quiver with some sad-looking bolts and a beginner's crossbow. His heart fell as he slowly crept towards the forest nearest to the square. All he could think about was getting back to his preferred environment and meditating on what to do next. It was just so overwhelming.

It was only a moment ago that Somnia was enjoying the chilly breeze in the forests of Terra; it was peaceful and relaxing, something that she could never have in reality. Antiva Chronus Online was her gateway to tranquility. It was already her sixth day online, though only a day or so passed in the real world. In fact, she was planning on logging out after all this time. With a groan, she staggered upright, stretching her arms into the sky. A flick of her wrist opened the main menu, and she scrolled down to hit the log out button. Before she could, a strange shock ran through her entire body, and then all of her armor was stripped straight from her body. Left in a mere tunic and pants, Somnia began to panic.

Everything was gone. Her inventory, her abilities, her levels, and even her damn Zhel. But, worst of all, the log out button had pixelated and disappeared right in front of her eyes.

The young woman barely had a chance to react to whatever happened when she was suddenly engulfed in the blue light of a teleportation spell and dropped right into Novus City along with everyone else who was still online. The Main Square erupted in fits of screaming and violence. Everyone was panicking. Somnia did her best to stay out of the line of fire.

The message from the Game Master did not help at all. Needless to say, it only exacerbated the situation. People began to curse and fight once again, and that was when Somnia knew she had to get out of there. A few lucky maneuvers managed to get her outside of the mob, and she ran out of the square without hesitation. Sure, she was shaken up by the sudden warning, but she took it as more of a challenge than anything. There were only two options left in ACO now: survive or die.

Somnia knew that this was partially the players’ faults. They had all stayed inside the game for too long, too captivated by a world that was far from real. Some people stopped caring about the outside world. Somnia was not one of them – she wanted to return home, go to college, get drinks at the bar after a long night of classes. Of all things, she didn’t want to be stuck in a false world.

Grasping her now beginner-level blade, Somnia swore under her breath before drawing it out. She was not going to lose this game. She was going to live.

Annwyn had pushed his way against the crowd, it was tough but he managed to do it without too much hassle. He figured it would be best not to be caught in the middle of it all considering the new and horrifying 'rule' that was just issued. There was no arguing he himself was afraid and shaken up but the recent in-game message but he wouldn't let it stop him from being who he was before the mass reset, 'The White Knight'. If anyone needed assistance or counseling, he will be there for them. Even if he could not offer anything like gold, food, or potions, he could at least give them his condolences.
As he plopped against the town wall and watched as countless players trampled over each other, casting blame on those they used to call 'friends'. "We had it coming..." he muttered to himself, observing the chaos. It's not as if he didn't deserve it as well. Everyone played the game for their own interests socialization, boredom, a love of MMOs, but in the end it was all for the common reason, an escape from reality. What's better than a fantasy world where you could be anyone you want? A brave hero? A sly rogue? Or a powerful sorcerer? Fighting monsters, winning treasure, proving your worth in the gaming community? It was an exhilarating experience! Why would anyone ever want to log out? Kazuhiro was guilty of this indulgence, neglecting his own basic needs in place of those of his avatar. But now, they were one in the same. There's a lesson to learn here, and it will not be completely resolved until the final boss is defeated.
Annwyn drew his beginner's blade there was no more time to waste.

„What a great weather!” Refa said and stretched her limbs in the air. Refa hasn't left ACO for 5 days already so she is in really great mood. In real life it now Saturday or maybe early Sunday, so she didn't have to worry about missing school. And her parents wouldn’t return until Monday so she enjoyed the free time to its fullest.
Yesterday Refa fought some pretty strong monsters in Subaqua and managed to get some rare ores she could use to make a sword. Today Refa decided to enjoy beautiful parts of Terra and rest. Luckily no player had invited her to boss fights, so she could relax.
Suddenly something strange happened. All her inventory, money, skills and abilities disappeared and she became level 1 again. At first she thought it was a hacker, but then she got forced to teleport to Nova City. Thousands of players, just as confused as her, surrounded Refa from all sides. Crowd was so thick it was impossible to move. After short while Game Master appeared and announced that everyone is trapped inside this game and that they all can actually die.
Once Game Master was gone, panic arose in the giant crowd. Everyone started to yell, run, swear thus making a giant mess in already stuffed Square. Refa was being tossed from one side to another and for moment she thought that she would get crushed by this crowd. The sudden message shocked Refa, however she was not the kind of stay dazed in panic for long.
„I have to get out of this crowd,” Refa said and took out the only weapon she now had – beginner’s sword. Due to shock and fear of dying everyone around her instantly backed away from Refa giving her space to move. With her sword raised high up Refa ran through panicking crowd until finally she managed to break out of it. She could not stay here or else she’ll be one of first to die in this death game.

It was normal day in Antiva Chronus Online. Players were enjoying the beautiful weather in Terra, fighting monsters, chatting with friends and simply having a great time. Nobody even suspected that their life is going to change forever.
Suddenly all the life in ACO froze up and then many players were forcefully logged out one after another. Their friends watched as with blue flash of light, they are thrown back into reality. But those who remained had it much worse. First they lost all their inventory and money except for the beginner’s gear. Then all their abilities disappeared, later – their pets and at the end their level was reduced back to 1. For a split second complete silence overcame Terra, and then the panic began. Players started yelling, swearing and sending reports to Game Master, but it was futile.
Soon all these 10,000 players were transported to the Main Square of Novus City. Confused of happening events players screamed, yelled and some even got into fights with each other. Until finally alert message appeared in the sky. At instant players became quiet and concentrated on the message that slowly started to change it’s shape. Slowly it became a dark-hooded figure which every know as Game Master.
"Dear players,
For a long time I have been watching over this game and enjoying the sight of people laughing and being happy in the world I have created. But then I noticed that some of you completely forgot about the real world. You turned your back on your families, friends and beloved ones. You used this game to escape from problems of real world and now it's time to teach you that ACO is not an escape.
I've returned all players to the starting point where you have no inventory, no money or skills. You have to start this game anew but this time it will be game of survival. In order to survive you have to work, eat proper food, watch out from illnesses which I have now added into game. It's just like real life except that you still have to fight monsters. None of you will be able to log out until at least one of you has beaten final boss. Just so you know there are total of 1000 bosses, one stronger then the other. Also please do not forget if you die in battle, starve too long, have been sick with strong disease you will die for real. I wish all players good luck!
Yours faithfully,
Kawakami Yoshihiro"
With that message the dark figure slowly vanished into the air. Time in the game changed to year 1 January 1st and with it weather changed as well. It became cold and snow started to fall and along with that players went crazy.