Chapter 1

As Isreal sat on the couch, he found himself lost in thought as he watched the news coverage of the launch of a new virtual reality game called Enlightenment Online. The game promised to transport players to a world of magic and wonder, where they could explore fantastical realms and become the heroes of their own stories. But Isreal couldn't help but feel a sense of skepticism. Could a game really provide the kind of transcendent experience that the developers were promising?

"As the newscaster droned on about the game's features, Isreal couldn't help but think about the potential of such a game being another bland traditional e-sport deep dive game.Would Enlightenment Online be any different? And even if it was different, would he find joy in It?, Would he be relieved from the boredom that is threatening to devour him after his parents death?, Would he truly be satisfied

The newscaster continued " Exalted Games has guaranteed a perfect gaming experience depending on the brain waves of a person which absolutely does not need the physical capabilities of a person, we are here with a representative of the company to give us an overview of the game"

A middle aged man was called upon "Thanks for having me , I'm Bryan Stark , lead production manager of Exalted Games, enlightenment online is a game built on the history and visage of our CEO's mentor 'The great sage of heaven', ' SUN WUKONG' . It is a game that has been tested for over five years, If you're a player then you shouldn't be expecting a traditional class game , as a personal advice I would say , ' play this game like it's your second life, a sown karma can come back at the most unexpected moments, let's all seek enlightenment, where it would lead will definitely surprise you, it might be the peak and it might be the sea, but a wise man once said ' I'll only regret things I didn't seek'.

This we're the words that Israel held close to his heart, as for the significance of this words, we all we realise this soon.

As the words of the reporter faded into the distance, Israel stood up from his couch "Another one of this VR games are out..... Sigh....., can't I just find satisfaction in anything"

Isreal Monarch, A 6.5 feet tall 21 year old genius,with an average face and a nearly perfect e-sport talent backed by a 5 times championship, and a totally bored human. " Enlightenment he said, can I be truly enlightened" Isreal thought aloud

"Damn I really need to clean up this place, as he started cleaning he downloaded the files of enlightenment online on his 5th gen pod, well let's do the honours of cleaning up this place before we start a new game.

As he was cleaning the room he stopped on his family portrait remembering the times where he used to anticipate another day

"Well now that that's over let's eat let's dive in"

As he moved towards his game pod , he took his note book and wrote

*Game no.32 - Enlightenment online*

* Estimated completion time - four months*

"Let's begin another quest for , err.... Scratch that lets just enter " as he logged into the game he met an old man stroking in beards in a weird way

' What do you seek young man' said the old man

"Is this some kind of click bait to draw people in, either ways I'm liking this "

" I seek fulfillment old man " Isreal replied

'just that , I do not mean what you seek in this plane that you earthlings call game ... I'm asking why you truly se...' he wanted to continue but was intercepted by Isreal

" This plane..... What plane"

' Damn it, what a waste' the old man cursed under his breath and then said with and absolutely friendly face 'happy gaming'

" Well that was weird" before Isreal could do anything, an holographic like screen popped up in his face with a message saying

' Choose A Name '

"Damn, exalted really went full budget on stylishness, I guess I have to reciprocate in kind as well"

'Phanes'

'it just had to be *him* .... Hopefully he'll bring to light the true meaning of the name he thought of on a whim'

'Phanes' the name of the primordial God of life and a word meaning 'bring to light'

'Happy gaming' the system replied in a very bland voice, even though he felt a hint of sarcasm in that voice

" I must have been hallucinating, damn.. am I that bored " . The screen went blank again for a few seconds and Israel could have sworn he heard a voice saying *another potential candidate lost without knowing his purpose*

"Boredom is really not good"

As his screen got brighter he found himself clustered with a lot of people in a vast mausoleum in the clouds screaming ancientness, as he tried to collect his thoughts he heard a voice which made him and everyone around him look up almost at the same time as if they were in the presence of an orchestra coordinator, alas none of them could find the voice... Al they heard was

'*The universe as never being fair, but it doesn't want you to try harder, ashes to ashes, dust to dust , all aspects of mother nature wanting us back the moment we left her womb, but, be not dismayed, The great sage of heaven just like his name implies was 'enlightened from nothingness'. What's stopping you.... The peak has never been defined .... Forge your path in this plane filled with multiple dangers and opportunity. The only thing stopping you is you . Go on and define your journey in this mortal plane. Ascend and keep on ascending till you feel your limit. And if you can break it then keep ascending. *'

As the unknown voice continued to speak Isreal felt like he was being fed something called 'chicken blood' by the eastern people yet he could not help but look forward to the game itself, his dormant and bored youth blood couldn't help but boil at her words

"Wow.... Exalted really went all out, to think they hired a professional motivation speaker.... I'm really anticipating it more and more, hopefully it's not dissapointing"

As his thoughts were calming down he haerd a bellow from everyone around him but he could not help but wounder how they are all understanding what the voice was saying since it was said in English....

"Maybe there is a kind of translation in the game "

'.... This is all I have to say to y'all , but remember *Everything is relative but change* '

Isreal wondered why everyone entity he had met in this game has the habit of speaking in parables

'.... Let your destiny lead you to your destination, while your strength the ship and your will the waves '

Just as the voice finished with the speech only a few remained as about 97% of the people present had been teleported , the veil of clouds surrounding the mausoleum and they heard the unknown voice before they left saying

'..... We'll meet if fate allows it , for now this is your starting point.'

"What an epic introduction , worthy of being Exalted's top game" a guy said to his friends

There were already people shouting....

' party of five needed '

'guild recruitment.....'

As if it was written in a novel pursuing perfectionism everyone decided to step out at the same time but they were all ...

Stumped

Yes.. stumped , surprised or shock would n an understatement to describe their reactions.

There was no starting village, no npc , no house, nothing.... Just a vast expanse of vegetation and forest.

..... Almost as if time stopped nobody moved for about a minute, all that was heard was the sound of the gentle breeze and almost rhythmic sound of more than four thousand people breath

As if to compensate for their lack of knowledge or an act to mock them for their stupidity an old man was seen in a cottage that mysteriously appeared in front of them

' To proceed in your search for enlightenment, we have quantified you physical and soul strength, affinity, bloodlines and physique in a screen showing in front of you,All you have to say is a word you all are familiar with *Status* ..... Just like you were earlier told, your destiny is both your anchor and ship , it's up to you to steer it through the murky and muddy waters know as this plane.' Almost like an echo the old man's voice was the only thing being heard at this moment

'.... I wish you good luck, even though I know you won't need it ' the second part of his sentence almost like a murmur was barely heard by them

'sigh'

This was the last thing heard before the old man mysteriously vanished just like he came

The reactions of the players were like a dormant volcanic eruption, loud and incomprehensible

A jumbo of dozens of different emotions mixed and packaged in one loud bellow

OOOOOOOOHHH!!

As Israel was collecting his thoughts he was approach by a person saying

'hey, wanna team up ?'

"No bro, I'd rather be alone" he replied

'no problem bro' and he walked away

M/N: what were you expecting (smirking mischievously)

All right we've been introduced enough, let's see if it's all worth it .