📜 CHAPTER 1

The Calm Before the Quest: The Rise of Alaric

The Kingdom of SlotLand basked under the last golden rays of an endless summer.

Banners fluttered atop castle towers. Children laughed as merchants shouted from gilded market stalls, and treasure fountains spilled rivers of silver and gold down cobbled streets.
The platforms—Ultra Panda, Golden Treasure, Vblink, and Golden Dragon—glowed like living entities, humming with ancient magic. Fortune was not something earned here; it was summoned by bravery, luck, and the will to spin fate’s wheel. 🎰

At the heart of this thriving kingdom lived Alaric—a man whose name carried neither title nor crown, yet was known in every corner of SlotLand.
A towering figure with storm-colored eyes and a calm that unnerved lesser men, Alaric had no hunger for riches. His only desire was simple: to protect the balance of magic that made SlotLand flourish.

And at his side, as constant as the rising sun, was Taytum—his wife, fierce and wise, whose laughter could soften even the hardest warrior's heart. Their life was simple, content... until the night the sky tore open. ⚡

It began with a rumble deep beneath the ground.

Villagers clutched their spinning reels in fear as the earth shook.
The air grew thick, electric with ancient rage, and from the mountains beyond the misted borders, something massive stirred.
A shadow, blacker than the void between stars, rose on leathery wings, blotting out the sun itself.

Sythrak. 🐉

The dragon of legend.
The Devourer of Fortunes.
The one they sang of in warnings... not celebrations.

With a shriek that shattered glass and hope alike, Sythrak swooped down upon SlotLand.
He did not burn buildings.
He did not slaughter men.

Instead, he attacked the very heart of the kingdom — the platforms.

Each sacred system flickered and dimmed under his claws:

• Ultra Panda's speed slowed to a crawl.

• Golden Treasure’s wells dried to dust.

• Vblink’s magic turned wild and unstable.

• Golden Dragon’s light faded to a dying ember.

With a final roar, Sythrak gathered the stolen magic into a jeweled orb clutched in his claws—and vanished into the darkness from whence he came.

SlotLand was left broken. The treasure fountains froze. The bells fell silent.

And in the middle of the ruins, Alaric stood, fists clenched, heart burning.
He knew then: no army would defeat Sythrak. No king’s decree would bring back the magic.

It would take a lone hero.
It would take a man willing to risk everything.

Before dawn the next morning, Alaric kissed Taytum's forehead as she slept.

"I'll be back before the next moon," he whispered, though something in his chest twisted at the lie.
Some quests are not measured in days... but in destiny.

He mounted his warhorse, clad in nothing but light armor and the memory of better days, and rode toward the shattered Borderlands, where only fools and legends dared tread.

The villagers watched from behind shuttered windows. None cheered. None called after him.

For they all knew: when a man rides to face a dragon, he does not ride to return. 🐲

Alaric rode until the lush fields of SlotLand gave way to barren rock. The mist thickened.
The path ahead split into four ancient roads, each marked by a crumbling stone bearing a familiar sigil:

⚡ A roaring panda, swift and wild.
🛡️ A chest gleaming with untold riches.
✨ A twinkling star swirling with magic.
🐉 A dragon coiled around a slumbering moon.

The platforms.
The powers he must reclaim.

Each road whispered promises. Each road hissed threats.
But Alaric could not walk them all.
He had to choose.

He dismounted, drawing his sword, staring at the crossroads as nightfall crept in.

The mist thickened behind him.

And somewhere, deep in the swirling shadows, something enormous moved.

A low, rattling growl rolled over the stones.

The ground trembled.

Alaric turned slowly, heart hammering.

He was not alone.

🛡️ TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 2:
"Choosing the Weapon: The Sacred Platforms"

"Alaric must choose his first path—and quickly—for something dark, ancient, and hungry is hunting him already..."