MMORPG: Rebirth as an Alchemist

I-Isolde . . .

Isolde glanced out of her window, a peculiar feeling washing over her as if someone had just called her name. Was she imagining things?

She shook her head, trying to dispel the odd sensation. But deep down, she was certain she had heard Leonel's voice just now.

Frowning, Isolde grabbed her cheeks, feeling the heat rise to her face. Even when awake, she seemed to hear Leonel's voice as if he were right beside her.

"That can't be," Isolde muttered to herself, trying to compose her raging heart.

She must be imagining things.

Returning to her room, Isolde directed the maid to clean every corner meticulously while she prepared to meet Leonel.

Donning a simple shirt and pants, she added a touch of makeup, unable to resist checking her appearance in front of the mirror again and again.

Just as she was about to finish her preparations, a loud ruckus echoed through the house, startling Isolde and pulling her away from the mirror.

"What's going on?" Isolde asked.

The maids wore an equally baffled expression, clearly unaware of the chaos outside.

Suddenly, her room burst open, and a guard rushed in. "Lady Isolde! You have to get out of here! Go to the helicopter, you have to escape!"

"What?" Isolde furrowed her brow, struggling to comprehend what the guard was saying.

Then, she heard gunshots and screams echoing through the halls.

"There's no time! You have to–!" The guard's urgent words were cut off as something attacked him, sending him crashing to the ground.

The maids screamed in terror as a strange creature, an alien with a mosquito-like head and fly-like eyes, plunged its long mouth into the guard.

The guard thrashed and struggled, but it was only a matter of seconds before his life flickered out from his eyes.

The maids shuffled frantically in one direction as the strange creature refocused its attention on them.

It was only then that Isolde snapped out of her daze, hastily reaching for the gun she kept hidden under her pillow.

With practiced precision, she opened fire at the creature closing in on her.

To her dismay, the creature seemed impervious to bullets until Isolde aimed for its head and blasted a hole through it. Only then did the creature stop its advance and slump to the ground, motionless.

Isolde didn't have time to dwell on the situation. She knew something was gravely wrong and swiftly exited her room, unable to spare a moment to order the maids to flee.

In the hallway, she was met with a harrowing scene. Guards were engaged in fierce combat with these alien-like creatures, while screams echoed all around as people scrambled to escape.

The creatures proved formidable, easily overpowering the guards. What was even more chilling was how, within minutes, those pierced by the creatures' long, pointed needle-like mouths began to transform into aliens like them.

Isolde, bewildered by the chaos, knew she needed to escape.

She turned to flee and was struck with surprise when the guard who had stormed into her room moments ago now stood before her, a wide, gaping hole in his stomach.

Veins bulged on his pale skin, his eyes bulging as if they were about to pop from their sockets. Blood oozed from his orifices before his mouth elongated unnaturally.

Without hesitation, Isolde fired straight at his head, unwilling to wait for him to finish his transformation and attack her.

BaAnNg!

The gunshot echoed through the corridor as Isolde neutralized the threat. She wasn't about to take any chances with whatever these creatures were.

With her heart pounding, she hurried towards the helicopter pod, her thoughts consumed by the urgency of escape. She didn't spare a glance for anyone else; survival was her top priority right now.

Her father and relatives must be heading to the pod as well.

Being part of a powerful mafia family, they were accustomed to handling dangerous situations, albeit not quite like this. It was more like what to do in case there was a war.

Nevertheless, their training kicked in, instinctively guiding them towards safety in the face of the unknown terror around them.

Isolde hurried towards the helicopter, her mind racing with thoughts of escape, but then Leonel's image flashed in her head.

Without hesitation, she immediately pulled out her phone and dialed his number, but it just kept ringing, unanswered.

"Come on, pick up!" Isolde hissed in frustration, trying repeatedly to reach him without success.

Desperation crept into her voice as she attempted to call Ren next, but before she could complete the call, a sudden blast nearby sent her flying, her phone slipping from her grasp.

Isolde hit the ground hard, a loud ringing noise filling her ears, making her feel dizzy.

Through the haze of smoke and dust, her vision blurred, and the last thing she saw were dozens and dozens of humans jerking as they walked, their fly-like eyes bulging, elongated mouths pointed, dragging what remained of their bodies towards her.

=======

"Do you hear that?" Roz asked Lira, his voice tinged with concern.

"Hear what?" Lira replied absentmindedly, her focus entirely on browsing for clothes. Right now, her priority was keeping up with the latest fashion trends.

With a mask covering her face, oversized sunglasses, and an inconspicuous wig, she felt confident that no one would recognize her, allowing her to shop in relative peace.

Meanwhile, Roz couldn't shake the nagging feeling of unease gnawing at him. His instincts were warning him that something wasn't right.

He shouldn't have agreed to come out and accompany Lira, but she had insisted it was urgent.

He should have known that her idea of urgent was something trivial, like not having the right dress for an OOTD tomorrow, even though her closet was full of them.

Refocusing his attention, Roz turned to his phone. He wasn't Lira's guard, and he definitely needed to get home to play his game.

However, his gaze soon shifted to a woman nearby. She began jerking and then collapsed to the ground. Staff quickly attended to her, causing a slight commotion in the area.