1 Graduation!

"Please welcome Xu Yun of the class of the year 20XX to give the graduation speech"

Clap! Clap! Clap!

A youth of nineteen years old came up the stage and walked over the podium. He looked over all the students and cleared his throat. The students stopped clapping and focused their attention on Xu Yun.

"We stand here today on the precipice of the future. It's not a distant reality anymore. It begins here. It begins today. We began high school as children, but we're leaving here as adults. We've completed a basic education that will serve as the platform we use to launch ourselves into our futures. Some of us will go on to college, others will go straight into the workforce, but each of us will travel our own path," Xu Yun spoke into the microphone.

Xing Yu shook his head. "I thought it will come and go in a flash but this is taking far too long. First, the principal gave his speech, then the mayor gave his speech and after that, the second year's students sang and danced and now the top of our year is giving his speech. What's next? More speeches? More performances by students?" Xing Yu laughed inwardly. He shook his head and then yawned from boredom.

Xing Yu only wanted to get his diploma and go home, he even asked his mother not to attend as he thought it would end in a flash.

"No matter where we go or what we do, there are challenges ahead of us. What I'm asking from each of you, and from myself, is to meet those challenges straight on with your head held high and your heart wide open. It's not enough to simply try to get by in life. That doesn't move the world forward. You must try to excel in everything you do; strive for excellence in every task, large or small."

"I bet he took this speech of the internet. It's so generic which makes me wonder why are they even needed. This is so stupid," he thought.

"Although it may not be easy to see, every accomplishment you achieve is added to the world's accomplishments. Your individual successes benefit society as a whole because when you succeed, you lighten the burden on your fellow man. When you succeed, you are in a position to give rather than take."

Xing Yu yawned.

"Imagine if every individual lived up to his or her own potential. Think about how amazing that would be, and how much better off the world would be. Now imagine if just half of those individuals lived up to their potential. The world would still be an awesome place. If even 1/4 of those individuals worked to make their lives successful, they could still make some amazing contributions to society"

"When will it end?" he thought.

"Well, we may not have the power to inspire the entire world to strive for success, but we do have the power to try to achieve it for ourselves. My challenge to each of you, and to myself, is to do all that you can do to reach your full potential. If each of the 20XX students in this graduating class is able to do that, just imagine the effect that would have. The future is truly in our hands, so let's make the most of it."

"Is he done yet?" Xing Yu thought and yawned once more.

"Thank you!" With his words, all the students started to clap, even Xing Yu clapped.

"It's finally over!" Xing Yu thought and smiled with relief.

The student walked off the stage and the principal came back to the podium, "Thank you, student, Xu Yun for giving such a magnificent speech." The principal clapped his hands and smiled. "We will now start handing out diplomas. You will be now called one by one, please come up when your name is called and after you have your diploma please stay a while longer. Outside of the hall, we will be taking pictures."

Xing Yu sighed. "I promised my mother, I would take pictures. It seems I will still have to be here a while." He sighed once more.

…

After half an hour

"Student, Xing Yu please come up and take your diploma!"

"Finally!" he thought.

Xing Yu ascended the stage and walked up to the principal. The principal extended the diploma, "I wish you good luck!"

Xing Yu nodded and took the diploma from the principal hands, he shook his hand and walked down the platform. He then returned to his seat and thought, "Now I only need a picture and I will be done!"

…

Thirty more minutes passed and every student now received their diploma. The principal once again walked back to the podium, "We will now begin taking pictures outside. First, there will be a group picture and then individual pictures. Once your pictures are taken you can download them from the school's social media page."

With the principal's words, the students began walking out of the hall.

Outside the students met up with their parents and the only student without a parent present was Xing Yu. He looked over the happy faces of other parents and lowered his head. "Since it was this long maybe I should have let my mom come after all," he thought. Xing Yu shook his head and thought, "It will be over soon."

Like he anticipated he left after taking the two pictures which took him only fifteen minutes of his time.

…

"I am home!" he shouted as he walked through the door. With his words, a beautiful middle-aged woman appeared. She had short black hair and blue eyes, a beautiful figure and looked like she was at most twenty-seven while her actual age was forty-one; her name was Xiao Ri. She smiled widely, "Welcome back, Xing Yu'er!"

"Hello, mom!"

"Your diploma?"

"It's here." He extended his right hand. She took the diploma from his hand and looked it over. Once she was done looking at it she raised her eyes, "And the pictures?"

"They should be on the social media page of the school."

She nodded, "Alright, I will download them later on. Come inside, I made a cake and prepared some champagne."

"Thank you, mom!" Xing Yu said with a smile.

"Are you sure its fine for you to spend such a day with me and not your classmates?"

Xing Yu shook his head, "It's fine, mom. Everyone else was with their own parents."

"I see," she nodded.

The two of them walked to the dining room and Xing Yu saw a huge cake on the table. "It looks good!"

"Let's hope it tastes good as well."

"I am sure it will. Everything that you make is really delicious."

"First have a taste and then you can shower me with your praise." Xiao Ri grabbed a large knife and with great precision cut two pieces from the cake and placed them onto two plates then grabbed a bottle of champagne and pulled out the stopper; she pouted the wine into two glasses that she had placed on the table beforehand. She then sat down, took her glass and raised it, "To your graduation!"

Xing Yu took the glass and raised it as well, "To my graduation!" The two knocked the two glasses together and drank down the champagne. He then grabbed a fork off the table and split the cake and put the split piece of the cake into his mouth. He smiled, "It's delicious, mom."

"That's good," she smiled.

…

After finishing the cake on the plate Xing Yu looked at the cake, "Can I have another?"

Xiao Ri raised the corner of her lips, "Sure but before you do answer one question."

"What question?"

"What major will you study?"

"I just graduated, mom."

"Yes, you have and now you need to graduate from the university and get a job, so which major?"

"Can't I take a short break?" He thought, "Lost Origins Online is releasing today in a few hours, I want to divert all my attention towards the game. I planned to be a NEET for a few years and decide then."

Xiao Ri laid back in her chair, "I will cut off your credit card if you don't apply for a university. Not only that I will confiscate all your smart devices, your computer, television, tablet and the smartphone."

Xing Yu jumped out of his chair. "You can't do that mom!" he shouted.

"I can and I will if you don't apply to a university, so which major will it be."

Xing Yu lowered his head, "That's not fair, mom!"

"You will not become good for nothing like your father."

Xing Yu sighed, I understand, mom."

"So which major?"

"I will take IT major."

"That's good." She took the plate from Xing Yu's side of the table and put it in another piece of cake. "Here you go."

"Thank you, mom."

…

Xing Yu walked back to his room and closed the door behind him. He looked around his room and saw the most expensive items one could find, the most expensive gaming chair - Secretlab Omega V10, most expensive bed - Amerisleep AS20, most expensive personal computer - Predator Orion 20000 and in the corner of his room laid an unpackaged box.

"There's still a few hours until the launch of the game, I might as well watch the trailer one more time since I have some time to kill," he thought.

The computer booted up in just a few seconds, it could do that since there was an SSD installed. He opened up the browser and accessed the official site of the game. When the page loaded up, he was immediately greeted with the trailer of the game.

"Do you want to choose your own destiny?"

"Do you want to live in the alternate world?

"Presenting the first VRMMO – Lost Origins Online."

"Forge your own path!"

"Connect to the breathing world!"

"And Experience it yourself!"

The entire trailer lasted only twenty seconds, there was not much shown. After the trailer concluded Xing Yu shook his head and laid back in his chair.

"Two more hours!" he thought and sighed. He moved his eyes to the unpackaged box and shrugged his shoulders. Xing Yu walked up to it and unpackaged the box. Inside he saw a hundred page instruction manual and an earpiece.

Xing Yu threw the manual to the side and held the small device in his hands. He rotated it and thought, "To think this small device is the new VR technology. Well, I will see it for myself in a few hours." He pulled out his Samsung Galaxy 26 and accessed the alarm. "Let's see it's now five pm and the game launches at seven PM so I need to set it for six forty-five and set!"

He put down his phone and the VR earpiece on the table and jumped on his bed and closed his eyes. He fell asleep in just a few minutes.

…

Ring! Ring! Ring!

Xing Yu's eyelids wavered and his eyes opened. He yawned loudly and rose up from the bed. He walked up to the phone and disabled the alarm, then glanced at the earpiece and put it on. Xing Yu looked over the instruction manual which now laid on the ground and opened it.

He skimmed through the information and nodded his head, "Easy enough," he thought. He grabbed his phone and accessed the Google play store. From there he downloaded the app that was named in the instruction manual – 'Lost Origins Online – Authorization' after the app downloaded, Xing Yu opened it up and logged in with his details then paired up his earpiece with the phone and thought, "That should be all."

He looked at the clock on the phone and smirked. "Just in time!" he thought.

Xing Yu laid on his bed and spoke out loudly, "LOO Start!" His eyelids immediately felt heavy and his eyes closed.

Before he knew it he was standing in an open white space.

"Welcome Xing Yu into the world of Lost Origins Online, do you wish to create your character now?"

A window appeared in the space before Xing Yu and in that window, two buttons were visible side by side. <Yes, No>; below these two buttons, a message appeared.

<Disclaimer>

<If you choose 'No' You will be logged out immedietly>

Xing Yu extended his hand and without hesitation taped the button, <Yes>.