Max Level Player " THE WANDERER "
Chapter 01 Past Steven

Steven sat alone at the minimarket cashier's desk where he worked, staring blankly out the window blurred by the morning dew. His once cheerful face now looks gloomy and dull. The loss of her grandmother, the only family left to her, has brought down her world.

It was a tough day for Steven. It had been three years since the grandmother's departure, and a deep sense of loneliness was growing. Every night, he would look at his picture affixed to the wall of his room and cry in silence. No one can replace the person he loves so much.

"Steven, are you okay?" ask Sarah, her co-worker, who's trying to figure out why Steven's ending looks so grim.

Steven nodded weakly, trying to smile thinly to appease Sarah. "Yes, Sarah, I'm good. Just a little tired, that's all."

Sarah nodded, though she felt that there was something Steven was hiding. They were partners at this workplace, and Sarah always felt the need to look after Steven.

Finished with his job as a cashier, Steven returns home to his small, modest apartment. Every corner of the room reminded him of his memories with his grandmother. Her picture with the granny who smiled warmly on the dining table, the flowers they planted together on the balcony, and many more other sweet memories.

Steven's life after his grandmother's departure was a monotonous routine. He went to work at the minimarket, then went home and cooked dinner for himself. However, there is one thing that becomes an escape from this bleak reality: the computer game he invented, "THE WANDERER."

Every night, after finishing his job and completing another daily routine, Steven would sit in front of his computer and enter this mysterious world of gaming. In that game, he felt free, strong, and meaningful.

"Welcome back, Survivor!" said the character who acted as a guide in the game when Steven got into it. In this game world, Steven wears a strong character that always reminds him of himself. He is a dedicated player, spending a lot of time honing his skills. For three years, he became one of the best players in "THE WANDERER," and also became the only person to reach level 250, which no one had ever been able to match.

The game is a world unlike the real world, a place devastated by the attacks of mysterious entities called "Beings." The graphics of the game are very simple, with a 2D-like look and dreary colors. But that's what makes it unique. In this game, there are no applicable laws, no rules, and no consequences. Players are free to do whatever they want.

Steven doesn't care much about the storyline in this game. What mattered to him was the sensation of strength he felt while fighting against the Beings and exploring the shattered world. This game is an escape from his bleak reality, and he feels alive in it.

However, one day, when Steven got into the game as usual, something strange happened. He gets a message from the guide character in the game.

Steven surprised. This was the first time he had received a message like this in the game. He looked at the statistics of the new weapon given to him, and he could hardly believe it. The weapon is much more powerful than any weapon he has ever had in the game.

"Of course I'm ready for Season 2!" steven answered excitedly. He was delighted with the prize given by the game developer and could not wait to use it in a new adventure in the game world that he loved.

However, just as Steven was about to wash his face and lie on his bed, he received another very strange email message from the game developer. The message read, "The world will reset in 12 hours."

Steven scrunched his forehead. This was not the usual message he received on his phone. Without thinking too much about it, he turned off his phone and tried to sleep. However, inside his sleep was filled with strange dreams about a shattered world and the Beings chasing after him.

As time passed, Steven woke up confused. He felt something was different, but he couldn't be sure.

He was in the middle of a dark forest, a thick fog enveloping the surroundings. Not only that, he felt that there was something different about his body. He wore a thick and heavy black robe, unlike his daily attire. Her hair, which was usually long, had now been cut neatly.

"It's a dream, it must be a dream..," Steven murmured to himself. He tries to understand what happened, trying to make sure that this is just a hallucination/delusion. But when he saw her reflection in a nearby puddle of water, his disbelief turned into deep confusion.

His face that was visible in the puddle no longer showed his 23-year-old self. Instead, she looked like her when she was 20, at a time when her grandmother was still alive. All the details about her, from her haircut to the bright skin on her face, looked exactly like the past she had left behind.

Steven felt his heart beating very fast. He does not understand what is happening, but one thing is certain: he is no longer in the real world. He is in the game world of "THE WANDERER," in the body of his own powerful character. And something even stranger, all the feelings and memories of the past that he left behind, began to come back to haunt him.

This is the beginning of an unexpected and dangerous adventure that will shake his life. The world he knows now seems to have undergone a reset, and Steven must figure out how to survive in a world so full of mystery and danger.

[Writer's Note]: This is the beginning of Steven's journey in the world of "THE WANDERER." A world unlike any he could have ever imagined, with secrets that he would reveal one by one. How will Steven face this challenge and will he find the answers to the questions that haunt him? Let's follow this incredible adventure with Steven as he explores this dark and mysterious world, looking for answers about why he is here and what will await him in the future.