Transmigrated in a Magic-Based RPG as a Background Character
The World of Aethelgard Online
In the vibrant digital world of Aethelgard Online, magic was once the very essence of existence, guided and blessed by Aethelred, The Script-Weaver, a benevolent primordial guardian of arcane energy and wisdom.
For eons, every aspect of the world pulsed with magic, empowering those who wielded Tomes of Arcana and shaping life across its diverse lands, seas, and skies.
Then, without warning, the Silence fell. Aethelred vanished, their guiding presence simply ceasing to be. The harmonious flow of magic faltered, leaving the world in a profound, unsettling void.
The very Tomes of Arcana that Aethelred had blessed turned into inert husks, their pages silent, their generative magic dormant. New generations coming of age at sixteen, when they traditionally received their own blessed tomes, found the original source of their creation gone, leaving them without the means to wield magic.
The passage of time in Aethelgard is now marked by "After the Silence (AS)", signifying the years since Aethelred's mysterious disappearance. The initial decades after the Silence were indeed a period of hardship and profound loss, as societies struggled without the magical abundance of old.
However, amidst the despair, a pivotal discovery emerged around 200 AS, roughly two centuries after the Silence. Through countless trials and the innate talents of mages, it was found that the ancient, silent tomes weren't entirely dead. These dormant Tomes of Arcana could be reawakened. By pouring their own magical power and raw arcane talent, drawn directly from their bloodlines, mages could reignite the bound spells within these precious relics.
This unique ability was intrinsically tied to a mage's personal growth, as they leveled up and increased their own strength, resolve, and understanding, their capacity to charge and revive these precious relics grew.
By the current narrative year of 316 AS, this method of magic revival is well-established. While still demanding innate talent and personal dedication, the process of acquiring and awakening a Tome of Arcana is now understood and integrated into Aethelgard's magical practices.
This allows for new generations of mages, including the main characters of this game to wield formidable power once more, albeit through a challenging path forged in the wake of Aethelred's lasting absence.
For Ethan Reed, a 25-year-old recluse who's poured seven years of his life into mastering the magic-based RPG, Aethelgard Online, the digital realm is his true home. As an unseen strategic mastermind, he commands a meticulously balanced party of legendary in-game characters to face the ultimate challenge: the Herald of Oblivion, an embodiment of entropy and nihilism, unleashing its relentless Silent Extinction legion to unmake Aethelgard itself.
Despite Ethan's unparalleled skill, managing multiple maxed-out accounts simultaneously, his party falls in the unprecedented, server-wide event. A shattering, metallic SKREEEEE! blares, and the monitor screams "DEFEAT! Aethelgard has fallen to The Silent Extinction."
In furious denial, Ethan slams his fist, desperate for "one more try." But before he can even blink, an ancient, sorrowful voice echoes directly in his mind: "Ethan Reed... I am giving you a chance. A final chance to save my world. To save my people."
Consciousness fading, Ethan is violently wrenched from his gaming chair and hurled into the very world he knows better than his own life. But there's a crucial twist, he transmigrated not as a hero with powerful spells and weapon, but as a seemingly ordinary, unremarkable background character.
Now, armed only with a lifetime of esoteric game knowledge and an impossible divine mandate, Ethan must navigate the living, breathing Aethelgard, where the Herald of Oblivion and its Silent Extinction are terrifyingly real. Can a mere background character rise to become the unsung hero Aethelgard desperately needs?
