Showing results by author "Zachary J. Lorang -translated by" in All Categories

The remnants of Duke de Clairmont's army are surrounded by enemy legions under the command of Ricardo di Lorenzo, otherwise known as the Golden Lion. Marshal de Clairmont himself is badly wounded, and already at death's door. Duke de Bauffremont and Duke de Gondy have assembled their forces on the border between Bergonia and Vestonia, and now, under Prince Philippe's leadership, this army is about to march off to rescue the surrounded Vestonian force. But that won't be enough to beat the Golden Lion in the field.

The game has devoured Earth. Players have gotten down to business as usual—farming, taking out monsters, leveling up their items, and wiping out dungeons. All the NPCs can do is accept their unenviable fate and try to survive in this complicated new world. But will they all be content to sit on their hands and accept it? Michael, a Universal Combat Mage, is one of a number of people who refuse to let fate lead them passively along. He wants to decide his own fate.

Arktania is a virtual game with a steampunk style. It's a place where magic spells, enchanted artifacts, steam-powered machines, firearms, and mechanical golems are a part of everyday life. Gamer Andrew Falk begins his journey in a small village on the border of Orcish territory. The locals are the keepers of many secrets, but their behavior is too realistic for characters in a game; so realistic, in fact, that Andrew starts to treat them as if they were real people.

The members of the League of Losers didn't even have a chance to get settled in their new home at the three-headed mountain before their new refuge was discovered by enemies—new ones as well as old. The lost evergreen valley, surrounded by snowy mountain peaks, is a very tempting prize that immediately attracted the envious attention of all the neighbors. And that means the time has come for Sergeant and his cat Whiskers to demonstrate the skills and spells they've learned in this new world, dust off their concealed artifacts, and make use of the beasts they tamed at the beginning of the game.

Thanks to the treachery of the Steel Rats clan, Falk never obtained the first of the five swords needed for his divine quest. Naturally, the new owner of the sword—the head of the Unnameables clan—has refused to sell such a valuable artifact. However, he is willing to give it up in exchange for Falk performing a little task for him in real life. All that's required is committing burglary by breaking into a secure location and stealing a well-guarded item.

Gamer Andrey continues his travels through the world of Arktania, mastering the ability to handle electrical energy and developing his unusual profession, glassblowing. Having received an epic quest from Elenia, the Goddess of Fate, he discovers to his shock that her power is not constrained within the game. Now the virtual Goddess follows Andrey in real life as well, threatening his life if he should fail to complete the tasks she assigns him. There's no turning back. More than that, to be honest, he's beginning to like Arktania with all its residents, its puzzles, and its adventures.

I'm a pretty unique guy. I have golden blood flowing through my veins. There are only about thirty people like me in the entire world. Yes, golden blood is a real thing. Google it if you don't believe me. My blood has allowed me to join a group of test subjects, eventually becoming the proud owner of an AI neural chip best known as Alisa. My blood has allowed me to be reborn after death: reborn to a new life in a world governed by magic, a world where humans are locked in mortal combat with monsters. Reborn—into the body of a terminally ill young guy who has but two days left to live.

The Treasury of Amaterasu was inaccessible even to the Goddess's own descendants, but it opened for me. But what will I find inside? Did Amaterasu leave something in there for me, as a sign from our past? And if so, what could it be? A message? A warning? The truth? Or perhaps some kind of artifact?

Andrey has finally obtained the first of the five swords he needs to complete the Goddess of Fate's quest. Now his path is taking him to the subterranean city of the Gremlins, Arkem. Gremlins are unpleasant, rascally creatures, with a twisted system of logic and a penchant for limitless chaos. So trying to negotiate with them is always fraught with danger. Fortunately, they happen to worship the mechanisms of the Ancients, which are somehow, mysteriously, connected to Andrey's hidden "Slider" class. This means that Andrey has a chance of recovering the second sword after all.

Falk has managed to obtain the second of the five swords he'll need to complete the Goddess's task, and now his path is taking him to the lands of the Elves. Time is limited, but before starting a new quest, it might be nice to wrap up his business in Arkem. Which will mean using the Mechanisms of the Ancients to defend the Gremlins' city from an attack by an army of Demons.

What happened to Earth? How did the ghouls originate? Where did chakra come from? I'm going to have to find the answers to these questions, and many others. The battle with the Goddess is fast approaching—a battle that will decide not only my own fate, but that of all my loved ones as well. I'm surrounded by powerful enemies, and the odds are stacked against me. But I won't give up! After all, the fate of humanity is riding on the outcome!

Falk has only a few days to obtain the Wood Sword in the Lands of the Elves. And he also has to make a trip to the capital to report the successful completion of his quest, and find out why the Empire needs a specialist who can control the Mechanisms of the Ancients in the first place. In the real world, meanwhile, more and more emissaries from Arktania's Gods are appearing all the time, and the confrontation between them is only getting more intense.

My arrival in the capital saw me accused of murdering the little Prince, and being taken into custody. Now I'm facing life in exile on Freedom Island—a prison island, where the most horrible criminals in the entire Empire end up: from Faceters and Black-Bookmen to murderers and rapists. An island from which, according to rumor, only three people have ever managed to escape.

I woke up alone, adrift in the ocean. Behind me, Freedom Island is still smoldering. In front of me, there's nothing but the endless expanse of the ocean. I don't know whether any of my comrades survived. I don't know what kind of forces have been tasked with finding me. The only option I have left is to keep moving forward, into the unknown....

What would happen if our world turned into a computer game? It might sound tempting at first, but there's one small detail you should know: in this game, people are nothing but non-playable characters, useful only for the service they provide to the real players. Experience, development, loot, levels—none of that is for us. Our role is merely to dance to the tune of our masters, who have come to our world to turn it into a character farm and a space for their own entertainment.

It's time to set off for the lands of the Orcs in search of the fourth sword, but first Falk and his friends have to bring someone back from the dead—another friend, who recently died in the real world. Henceforth, Artyom will become the Emissary of the God of the Dead in Arkatnia, while the virtual God migrates over into the real world. To make this happen, though, Artyom's girlfriend (who's never played a computer game in her life) will need to search the coffins that fly over the capital until she finds the one that contains a copy of Artyom's character.

Falk has only a few days to obtain the Wood Sword in the Lands of the Elves. And he also has to make a trip to the capital to report the successful completion of his quest, and find out why the Empire needs a specialist who can control the Mechanisms of the Ancients in the first place. In the real world, meanwhile, more and more emissaries from Arktania's Gods are appearing all the time, and the confrontation between them is only getting more intense.