Forbidden: Max level warrior

Ren slouched in his gaming chair, the glow of his ultra-wide monitor painting his dim room in hues of blue and gold. The soft hum of his PC fans filled the silence, accompanied only by the victorious orchestral score from the game's ending screen. After five relentless years, thousands of hours, and more energy drinks than he cared to count, he had finally done it.

He'd conquered Forbidden—the most punishing MMORPG ever designed.

On the screen, his character, Ann Zero, stood atop a mountain bathed in divine sunlight, the final boss lying crumbled in the background like a discarded god. Max level. Every stat capped. An inventory filled with forbidden-tier artifacts. He was a living glitch, a power fantasy come to life. No one else had done it. Most had quit. Some never made it past the second world. But Ren? He'd cleared all seven stages—Low Earth, high earth and the rest.

The game was finished. He was, in every sense of the word, a legend.

And yet… a strange emptiness bloomed in his chest as he stared at the screen.

The words "Thank you for playing" shimmered softly in the corner. A small prompt blinked below it:

[DELETE CHARACTER?]

He leaned back, eyes narrowing. That button. It wasn't part of the usual UI. Just a glowing command, daring him to cut ties with the digital godhood he had built. He chuckled under his breath, fingers hovering over the keyboard.

"Delete Ann Zero, huh?" he muttered. "You expect me to erase five years of my life with one click?"

He thought about starting fresh. A new class. Maybe even permadeath mode, like the lunatics on the forums. But nothing would match this. Ann Zero wasn't just a character. He was a symbol. A trophy. A second self built through pain, obsession, and triumph.

Still… five years.

Maybe it was time to move on.

With a sigh of finality, Ren clicked.

The moment his finger touched the mouse, the world exploded.

A flash of light—pure, blinding—erupted from the screen, flooding the room like a supernova. Ren jerked back, chair skidding, heart slamming into his ribs. But the light didn't stop. It intensified, swallowing everything—his desk, his posters, the lingering scent of ramen—until there was only void.

Then came the sensation. Like static crawling over his skin, sharp and electric. His ears rang. His limbs went numb. He tried to scream, but no sound came. He was falling, or maybe rising—weightless, adrift in a colorless ocean.

Is this death?

A system error? A prank from the devs?

But then—

A snap.

The world returned.

Ren stumbled forward, boots hitting soft earth. The air was thick with humidity, the scent of moss and pine flooding his nostrils. He looked around, blinking against the sudden daylight. Towering trees surrounded him, their branches woven so tightly that only streaks of golden light filtered through. Glowing vines wrapped around massive trunks, pulsing with faint mana. Birds—strange and elegant—called out in the distance.

He knew this place.

"The Beginner's Forest?" he whispered.

His voice was hoarse. Real. He spun in a slow circle, heart racing. Every detail matched—down to the shimmering leaves and flickering mana particles drifting through the air.

"This is... Forbidden," he said. "No, this is real. This can't be real."

He slapped his cheek. It stung. Not a dream.

Panic surged in his chest. He stumbled backward, nearly tripping over a root. "No. No, no, no! This is some isekai nonsense!" he shouted at the sky. "You don't just fall into a game! I love my life! I wasn't some depressed office worker! I didn't wish for this!"

But no god answered. No system admin explained the joke.

Silence. Just the soft hum of mana in the air.

Ren's breathing slowed. He forced himself to focus. "Okay. Okay. Think. If this is Forbidden, then... I should check my stats."

As if summoned by thought, a translucent blue panel materialized before his eyes.

---

[Name: Ann Zero]

[Title: Demon Lord of Infinity]

[Race: Unknown]

[Level: MAX]

[Stat Points: ∞]

[Forbidden Points: ∞]

[Infinity Points: 100]

[System Shop: Available]

---

Ren's jaw dropped. "Wait—I'm Ann Zero? My actual character? Not just me in his place?"

He glanced down at his body. Gone was his usual hoodie and pajama pants. In their place: a sleek black coat trimmed in silver, sleeveless to reveal toned arms inked with glowing dragon-scale tattoos. Black leather trousers hugged muscular legs, and the Ring of Orion pulsed softly on his finger.

He looked like a dark fantasy boss. His character come to life.

Ren stumbled toward a nearby lake, its surface glassy and still. Leaning over, he studied his reflection.

Silver hair, long and wild. Eyes like molten gold. Pale, flawless skin. A jawline sharp enough to cut steel. He looked... beautiful. Unnervingly so.

"Holy crap, I'm hot," he whispered.

But beneath the awe was a flicker of dread.

This wasn't just cosmetic. He was Ann Zero. His body, his mana, even the instincts humming beneath his skin—it was all real.

He clenched his fist. Power surged from his core, mana flowing like a river under his skin. It was overwhelming. In the game, mana was just a resource bar. Here? It felt like part of his soul.

"This is insane," he muttered. "But... maybe not hopeless."

He focused on the panel again, tapping the section labeled Forbidden Points. Another window opened.

---

[Forbidden Points Functions]

Purchase any item from the System Shop

Exchange for world currency

Summon relics, weapons, or creatures

[Infinity Points Functions]

Ascend to a higher realm

Summon entities or artifacts from other worlds

Resurrect upon death

---

Ren blinked.

This wasn't just overpowered. It was cheating on a cosmic level.

He could buy anything, summon gods, bend physics, even alter his origin? And he had infinite Forbidden Points?

"I... I broke the system," he whispered. "In the game, I was strong. But this—this is godhood."

A laugh bubbled out of him, shaky and half-hysterical. "Okay, Ren. You're trapped in a fantasy world as the most busted character ever made. Time to embrace it."

He looked down the forest path, his silver hair rippling in the breeze.

"Guess I'm not just Ren anymore," he said with a grin. "I'm Ann Zero—the Demon Lord of Infinity."

The title echoed through his mind, as if the world itself acknowledged it.

As he stood, a violent presence stirred nearby. The air grew heavy, charged with menace. Ren's gamer instincts kicked in, his senses sharpening. From the shadows, a D-rank monster appeared—probably level 30, its form indistinct but radiating hostility. Red eyes glared, and its claws glinted in the sunlight.