The Game Starts

Ch 33: The Game Starts

(I made some edits for the last part)

(I'll be bitching here for a sec, you guys can read it if you want to.

This will be the last really big chapter that I'll ever write in this novel… hopefully.

I knew that the setting I had made for this novel would take quite some time to develop, but even then, I severely underestimated it. After I realized that, I started to create these long chapters to speed up the story for you guys and to own up to my own mistakes.

In doing so, I had crossed 100k words in my novel in just a month or so…

Now that the RPG has finally started, I'll start writing chapters at normal length again (1600-2000 words). I'm sorry if any of you are disappointed but it is not feasible for me to write these long chapters on a daily basis.

Btw, this chapter is 12000 words long… yep thats a twelve with three zeros… good luck…)

(Sorry for the delayed release, this chapter was just too much to edit)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Felix's POV

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

June, 2016.

"Hmmm~ A bit lower~

"Here?"

"Yeah! That's it~"

"*Sigh*"

I was lying on my bed with my laptop on one lap and a head on the other.

It was Irene's head…

It couldn't be helped, honestly… A week after my 'not so small' rendezvous with Melena, I started to telepathically feel that Irene wasn't doing really well. Even though she never said it and maintained her cheerful character, I could feel that she had feelings of insecurity, loss, and urgency in her.

I kinda predicted that this would happen at some point. Although she had her 'kink', she wasn't as far-gone into it, she was still a normal human. She would still feel left out if her 'sisters' were spending intimate time together with someone she liked, while she couldn't.

To mitigate this problem, although I couldn't make out with her, I could still give her more time and pamper her. It seemed to be working. Although the urgency in her didn't decrease by much, these 4 months of pampering had completely dissolved her insecurities and feelings of loss.

Irene was someone who was cheerful by nature. Although she becomes a worrywart if things at present become bad, she never really liked to brood over things of the past if they were better now.

She seemed to be contended, now that I was spending more time with her. She didn't have many demands or make any intimate advancements on me, which I really appreciated. For her, spending time together with just the two of us was more than enough. And I enjoyed it a lot too. Her cute antics and banters always put a smile on my face. She was someone who I couldn't ever get tired of. She made me feel warm and cozy from the depths of my soul.

I couldn't contain myself and pinched her cheek in adoration.

"Hehe~ I'm quite cute, aren't I?~"

"Your narcissism is getting out of control these days."

"What can I do?~ You think that I'm the best, so of course I'm gonna end up this way!~ AaAaAaAaAaAa!"

Irene created some cute noises as I pulled her cheek and softly shook it in fake reprimand.

Although I was casual about it on the outside, I was actually sweating inside.

'Is she a regressor or something?! Does she have telepathic powers like mine?! How does she always know what I'm thinking?!'

I decided to ignore it all and got back to my work.

Uncle Derick had introduced a pretty unconventional idea to me. One that could solve a major problem for me. I was working on that.

A few years back, Dad and I had set up a liquid nutrition company. The company's products were a niche among people. They mostly bought it to just try it out once for fun. There was no actual reason to opt for liquid nutrition when times were still quite easygoing. The company would only make real profits when 'Etheria' launches and people go ape-shit to save time. Because of our 'friendly' investors, we didn't really even need those profits from the company.

We were thinking about shutting it down but backtracked when Uncle Derick suggested an ingenious idea.

He suggested that we rather expand the company even more, to the point that it's basically a monopoly.

According to his plan, if we become the main supplier of liquid nutrition, we could easily track those who were buying it, and thus track who the players are. That in itself wasn't that great, as there would be millions of people who would buy them.

But what if we narrow down our search to the people who would buy them in bulk?

Most of the time, the only people who would do that were either those who were too into the 'game', or guilds.

Both of them were very good signs for us.

Most 'Etheria' addicts were those who had great talents and tried their best to waste as minimal time in the real world as they could. That also includes the time they could potentially waste while buying groceries or eating normal food. From the interviews that I had seen, these people really did sustain themselves only on liquid nutrition and supplements.

Dad and I were stuck in a bottleneck right now. There were plenty of people that we wanted to recruit but I didn't have much, if any, real-life information on them. It wasn't because they had hidden it, it was just that the 'me' in the past never bothered to look them up. I was an item inspector and an information collector in the past but not everything was under my jurisdiction. I had other co-workers as well. Although a lot of the people I wanted had joined us, there were still exceptions. We also planned to make Etheria more popular among the populace, since the majority still hadn't played it even after 7 years of its runtime in the past timeline. This would unleash a whole bunch of new players that I had never heard of before, creating a gap in information for me.

This information gap was getting in the way of my plans but now this unconventional solution came up. Although we couldn't contact them before 'Etheria' launches and make them our employees, this was the next best thing.

Directly recruiting them through real-world interaction would be quite risky as they may get creeped out by us. But what if they had made a 'Friend' who 'coincidentally' wants to join my guild and wants them to join too? What if 'somehow', their circumstances got worse and they 'coincidentally' saw a recruitment notice for a guild with a great salary?

I had the manpower and the connections to make it all happen. I had the money to make them satisfied.

As for the legality of this whole information collection operation? Who cares? I wasn't twiddling my thumbs all this while. I had made 'contacts' with a lot of government workers in other countries and the Lantir Government was already my loyal side-bitch. They would all try their best to hide anything we do. The Lantir Government was even gonna launch a private satellite for us to secure our operations. The satellite launch was gonna happen soon, after a few months. The girls were quite excited to go see it.

I grinned at Irene who was dozing off on my lap and resumed my work.

(A/N: Not gonna lie, writing this novel has made me make discoveries about myself. I think I'm way more evil than I thought I was… MUAHAHAHA- *Cough!* *Cough!*)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

October, 2016

*T-minus: 50*

A loudspeaker blared at the RockaChika Space Center's visitor's complex.

The Hudson, Ranford, and Myers families were sitting at the front viewing seats, along with Alexio, Mariana, and Nora. They were all quite excited to see the launch.

Alexio and Mariana had become quite close to us after they read the report about their past lives. Needless to say, they were both quite emotional when they met up with us the next day. Dad even had to twist their ears, to tighten the screws in their heads, when they both tried to act subservient to him. Now, they acted more like normal times, but I could feel an intense loyalty coming from them…

After reading the report, Alexio and Mariana's relationship had also grown a lot stronger. Once, in the gym, after the training session was done, Alexio secretly told me that he was soon gonna propose to Mariana. I told him to hold back for now and wait for 'Etheria' to launch. There were many beautiful places there to make the event even more special.

As for Nora sitting with us…

She had just barged in 'Nora-the-hooligan style'. The girls had become quite good friends with her so they readily made some space for her. Dad looked at me with a sleazy smile when she came up, but I just ignored him altogether.

*T-minus 10, 9, 8…"

We all readied our binoculars.

*Bang!* *Shzzzzz!*

Sparks ignited the fuel and the rocket's propulsion system started to warm up. Smoke and dust flew everywhere.

*3..2..1..the launch sequence has started!"

*BANG!* *ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ*

The propulsion engines kicked in and unleashed an inferno underneath. The support structures detached from the rocket and it started to propel upwards.

We didn't celebrate yet and held our breaths.

The rocket blazed and flew upwards on a slight angle, leaving behind a dense trail of smoke. It started to accelerate quickly and started to become smaller and smaller. We zoomed in our binoculars as much as we could until even they seemed insufficient.

No one spoke and just looked up to catch a glimpse of it.

*Second sequence is starting*

I saw some debris falling down from the sky and gulped.

Then after some time, the announcer spoke again.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Satellite PA-420 has successfully exited the Earth! PA-420 is estimated to enter a stable orbit in 2 hours and 43 minutes."

"Hurray!" "Hahahahah!" "WoOoOoOoOo!"

The tension finally burst and came a wave of cheers and exclamations.

It wasn't just us who were hooting. In the back seats, all of our official guild members were sitting as well, cheering for the successful launch.

They all looked like athletes at this point, be it men or women. Their eyes had a sharp glint to them. Even as they cheered, their bodies never collided with each other unless they intended to do it. Showing off the subconscious control that they had attained in their bodies, not losing their edge in any situation.

Although we had made our bottom line for telling them the truth even higher, their numbers had still roughly quadrupled at this point. Of the 758 employees in our main company, 392 had officially joined our guild while knowing the full truth. Most of them had talent grades ranging from 'B' to 'A'. They were the ones who I could 'Compel' without worrying too much about the consequences.

But they still had to take the final step on their own. Dad and I were a bit astonished at the speed they had started to meet-up with our new criteria. It was a pleasant surprise.

This speed-up was the result of our official guild members also helping us in spreading good sentiments and loyalty towards the other employees. We predicted that, as time goes on and as we get new guild members, this speed will probably increase even more. That included those who had talent grades higher than 'A', the ones I couldn't 'Compel' willy-nilly.

"Haha! I've already booked a whole restaurant for us! What are you guys waiting for?! Let's go to the shuttles and celebrate!"

"Alright!" "Hahahaha!"

We all got inside our respective shuttle buses and headed to the restaurant.

People like my Mom and Aunty Martha were a bit confused as to why we were celebrating so hard. From their perspective, it was just a rocket launch conducted by our government and we just got an invitation to watch it. Dad brushed it off as a stress reliever and Mom accepted it with skeptical eyes.

Although Mom didn't have the best 'Womanly Intuition', she has been observing our behavior for years now. Even if the dots are scattered everywhere, they might connect in her mind at some point in time. Honestly, I didn't know what to do about it.

Using 'Compel' on my own mother was out of the question. I would never do it. I would just have to wait and see. If she ever finds out then, I was bidding on just telling her a washed-down, family-friendly version of the truth. That was the best that could happen in that situation, but life generally tends to give you lemons, so we'll have to be flexible enough to tend to any situation.

The celebrations continued.

After training for this long, the guild members had become quite rowdy. Whenever they had any free time(which they barely had), they chose to maximize the fun as much as possible.

I enviously stared at them as they all drank booze. Mom was here, she would never let me take even a whiff of alcohol. It was quite regrettable…

But there was someone who was gonna get the 'beer pass' in a few months…

.

.

.

.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

21st of April, 2017

It was Silia's birthday.

Unlike the last few years, this time it happened in her own house. It was all thanks to Aunty Amelia moving in with the Myers duo and giving their house a semblance of a real, warm home.

My family came to their front door and were warmly greeted by Uncle Derick.

We entered their house and were assaulted by all kinds of delectable smells of food. Their whole lounge was plastered with all kinds of decorations, giving it all a homely vibe. Even a blind person could see that Aunty Amelia had made a lot of effort to make this birthday as special as possible.

Aunty Amelia and the 'Birthday Girl', Silia also came over and greeted us.

Silia was wearing a gorgeous navy blue dress that matched her quite well. It was a family party so it didn't have any exposure but knowing what was hidden behind the dress formed a little grin on my face.

Silia noticed my ogling gaze and the slight grin on my face. She winked at me teasingly and went back to chatting with my Mom.

Other guests also started to come in after some time and the whole lounge became a hub hub of chatters and pleasantries.

After the chatters cooled down, we had her cake-cutting ceremony for her 21st birthday.

Aunty Amelia had told us not to do any foam pranks since she had an event planned out for the day.

"*Ahem* My dear, you have now turned 21 and will be joining the big leagues with us adults~ But there is an extra ceremony you have to do to officially join us~ Derick dear, bring it in!"

Uncle Derick smirked at Aunty Amilia's words and went to fetch something… I knew what it was… It made me extremely saddened and envious…

Bam!

Uncle Derick brought over a bottle of beer and slammed it on the table.

All the adult guests grinned and came closer.

*Clunk!* *Fizzzzzz*

Uncle Derick opened up the bottle and passed it to Aunty Amelia. No one cared that the foam was overflowing and dripping everywhere.

"Hehe~ Silia dear, there will be no buts~ You need to chug it all down!~"

Silia gulped when she saw the volume of the beer. She worked herself up and grabbed hold of the bottle.

"Chug!" "Chug!" "Chug!"

The atmosphere was akin to a bar… every adult hooted for her to drink.

Silia got excited experiencing the atmosphere and put the bottle in her mouth.

"Chug!" "Chug!" "Chug!"

*Gulp* *Gulp* *Gulp*

She winced a bit at the taste but continued to take large gulps.

"Chug!" "Chug!" "Chug!"

*Gulp* *Gulp* *Gulp*

She turned the bottle upside down and literally started to chug down the whole beer.

*Slam!*

After it finished, she slammed the bottle on the table as a declaration to all who were present.

"Yaay!" "Hurray!" "Welcome to the big pants club!"

Everyone erupted in cheers and hooted even more.

Silia grinned and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. But suddenly opened her mouth and…

*BURRRPPPP*

It was the first time that she had ever made any unladylike actions in public….

"Hahahaha!" "Now we're talkin!" "Has someone made a video of it?!"

Everyone laughed out loud and joked about it. Not gonna lie, it was quite hilarious to see a stunning face like hers having such a wild burp.

Silia's face reddened and she hid her face in Aunty Amilia's bosom.

The alcohol was finally starting to kick into her system, making her more tipsy and more embarrassed than she usually would be. Her tolerance was really not that great… she had gotten drunk with a single bottle of beer…

Aunty Amilia hugged her tight and patted the back of her head as she laughed along with others. She then escorted Silia to her room and came back.

Although Silia wasn't here anymore, the party still continued.

Aunty Amelia had made all kinds of delicious dishes for the guests. I for one was never a person to say no to good food and dug straight in. That was the only thing I could do to distract myself from the empty beer bottle I saw on the table.

'Hehe~ How would Silia act if we made out while she was drunk?~ Hehe~ I'll be sure to witness it in the future~'

The party went amazingly and everyone enjoyed it a lot. Before we took our leave, I could see that Uncle Derick was looking at Aunty Amilia with loving eyes. They will probably be getting quite some action tonight. Thankfully, Silia was drunk and would probably be deep sleeping tonight…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

June, 2017

I was in the car's backseat along with Melena. On the front seats were Mom and Dad. We were all dressed up in semi-formal wear.

It was our Graduation Day.

A couple of cars were also following right behind us. They were of the Myers and Ranford family.

After some time we finally reached the college grounds and exited the cars.

*Whistle*

"You all look so good! Little Fel, you're probably gonna score quite a lot of girls today~ Irene honey~ you better up your game~"

Aunty Martha came out of her car and teased all of us.

"Hehe~ Martha, we'll tease them afterward~ but first~ Kids, start putting on your gowns and mortarboards!"

Mom opened up the car's hatch and distributed our gowns and hats to us. I took a glimpse and saw a buttload of cameras and recording equipment inside. There were also the dreaded bags…

I started to sweat bullets seeing them.

'Goddammit! It will happen in this timeline as well! It's already so fucking hot out here!'

Of course, I couldn't say anything to Mom in person.

Irene and Silia had the same expression as me when they saw what was inside their own cars.

"Hehehehehe~"

Dad, Uncle Derick, and Uncle Harry snickered when they saw our expressions.

Melena was completely oblivious to what was gonna happen and started to talk with the girls after putting on her gown and mortarboard. All three of us collectively agreed with our eyes to not tell her about what was coming… at least one of us would fully enjoy the ceremony… well if she could pass the next few hurdles…

Our other friends from the gym also came up to us with their parents and we all went to the ceremony hall together.

All the mothers had cameras in their hands and bags slung on their shoulders… Mom topped them all off with a huge ass camera resting on her shoulders. The most dreadful thing about it was that she knew how to fully use it! She had taken photography courses when she was young and was also quite tech-savvy as the wife of a game producer.

I was sure that Dad was the one who gave the camera to her…. I'll get my revenge!

We all sat on our seats that were 'coincidentally' in the front row and waited for the hall to fill up.

There were murmurs everywhere as the hall finally reached its full capacity.

The Chancellor came onto the stage and stood in front of the mike.

"To those robed in the front of this stage – thank you for inviting me to share your day. I have to say it's a spectacular view from here - the colors, tassels, caps, academic gowns - all timeless symbols, steeped in history and tradition - symbols affirming the level and discipline of your academic achievements..."

And… he started to give a boring, long-ass speech… He tried to add lame jokes in between but no one actually laughed, they were just pretending to laugh…

The brightness and excitement in Melena's eyes started to wane as time passed by… My poor baby…

I thought that getting the front seats would be great, but I was slowly starting to regret it, now… At least if we were in the middle of backseats, we could've dozed off without worrying…

Irene was sitting beside me and elbowed me. I didn't say a word or do anything in retaliation… I totally deserved it…

The speech finally ended and came the time for us to go on the stage and get convocated.

Normally, the students would be called up on a class-by-class basis but the staff here were 'friends' of mine and easily agreed to convocate us first. We'll get applause from everyone here when their energy level is at their highest.

"Graduate Silia Myers, please come on the stage."

Silia stood up and walked up to the stage.

She was handed a fake rolled-up degree and shook hands with the Chancellor.

*Clap!**Clap!**Clap!**Clap!**Clap!*

Applauses resounded everywhere from the hall. She was a top beauty in college and also had one of the best GPAs this session. She was very popular.

Silia looked down and smiled at us. We also smiled back at her.

But then her eyes shook as she looked a bit farther back…

I knew what she saw… I didn't even wanna look back to check it…

Then came Irene and Melena's turns. They both happily walked to the stage in succession and walked back to us with a petrified look.

"Graduate Felix Hudson, please come on the stage."

As soon as it took a step on the stage…

*Clap!**Clap!**Clap!**Clap!**Clap!*

Applause and claps started to fire away… if that wasn't weird on its own, most of the ones who were clapping were the females… that included the alumni here and the moms sitting on the backseats…

There was a halt in my steps for a second but then I resumed heading towards the Chancellor.

He gave me the fake scroll and shook my hands.

*Clap!**Clap!**Clap!**Clap!**Clap!*

"Woohoo!"

"Felix! I still haven't dated and am waiting for you!"

"Shut up! I am the one who'll date him!"

"Heh~ Wishful girls, I'm clearly the hottest piece here~"

I could have given my attention to the banters going on, down the stage, but my gaze was completely occupied by a horrific sight…

Dad was there, holding the giant camera and recording every moment. Aunty Amelia also had a camera in front of her face, taking photos of me…

Mom and Aunty Martha held a huge ass cloth banner on each end and raised it up.

It said…

'The Handsomest Of All! Felix Hudson!'

As soon as I came to my senses, I took my hands off the Chancellor's and swiftly walked back to my seat.

Just like the girls, I sat there and contemplated my life….

This had happened in the previous timeline as well, the only difference was that Dad was there holding the banner in Aunty Martha's place. At least that was a nice change… or so I wanted to think, in order to forget what happened…. Fuck, I can't even forget anything….

Our other friends from the gym also started to get called out and got convocated happily… at least their parents weren't as crazy as ours. I swear to god, there is definitely something in our neighborhood that's making the mothers there like this…

The convocations went on. As time passed, the power in the applause started to simmer down. Everyone was getting tired of clapping at some point…

The ceremony finally ended and the Valedictorian came up to the stage.

He gave another long-ass speech, addressing us all…

Just why do Graduations have to be this way?...

He finally ended his speech.

*Clap**Clap**Clap*

Although the applause was more than what the last few convocated students got, it was a far cry from what the girls and I got.

The Valedictorian narrowed his eyes on me for a second but then cleared his expression and went off the stage with a smile.

The ceremony finally ended and all the alumni grouped together outside the hall for hat tossing.

There was an asymmetry in the group as most of the ladies rushed in to stand beside me. Some even tried to grope me but the girls came in to save the day.

Our parents readied their cameras. I saw Mom and Dad putting the camera on a tripod and finicking around with it to shoot the perfect video. From what I remember, that camera could also shoot pretty high frame-rate videos, up to 2000 fps…

"Ready!… Set!... Go!"

We all tossed our caps in the air at the signal and celebrated.

"Yay!" "Woo!"

With our perfected techniques, our caps fell down right in our hands again. They didn't mix up with the caps of others.

The girls and I hugged each other, almost too intimately. The girls from the gym also took their chances and came over for a hug. Well, I didn't want to water down their happiness, and hugged them back.

I looked over at my parents and saw them grinning from ear to ear. They even put their thumbs up, pointing at me. Dad had a sleazy expression on his face, meanwhile, Mom's eyebrows were wriggling in contemplation. I didn't wanna know what was cooking up in her mind…

After we were done with all the ceremonies and traditions, our parents dragged us to take pictures of us in our gowns.

The photo session lasted about an hour and we were finally free.

Irene dragged us away and took us to photobomb others… What else could I expect from her… One of her titles was 'Irene the Goblin'...

We ran around, ruining the perfect moments that the students had been waiting for, for years…

We were all sadistic bastards and took joy in all of it, without any remorse, hehe~

The event ended and we finally left for our homes.

Only Silia could drink right now so we couldn't even go to a bar to celebrate… but we at least made up for it with a great and rowdy dinner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4th September, 2017

It was my 18th birthday. Well, I am physically an adult now.

The launch was getting nearer and nearer. We had been upping our training efforts and streamlining our existing workflow. It had left us… all…. exhausted.

This day was a rare day to just relax. Not just for us but all our current guild members too. We had given them a break for this occasion too. It was small, only a single day, but I was sure they would appreciate it.

Anyone's 18th birthday held a special meaning for them. Crossing that point was a milestone for everyone. Usually, everyone holds a great party to celebrate this occasion, but I had told everyone to keep the celebration as minimal as possible.

I just wanted to relax today. No bantering, no loud noises, no nothing. I had already experienced my 18th birthday celebration in my previous life. There was no need for more.

Only close ones and family members were invited today. Half of the people here already knew the truth, and thus were also quite exhausted from the training. They were all really happy for me but didn't make too much noise. It was the same for the girls. They didn't pull any pranks this time and just relaxed and chatted.

The cake-cutting was done and after that, we all just ate our fill while we chatted. It was all very simple, just what I needed.

But at the end of the party, Dad pulled out something unexpected…

"Son, take this. It was pretty hard to hide it from you but I think I succeeded, looking at your expression. Now, open it. I'm sure you'll like it~"

Dad gave me a tiny box and said with a grin.

I was quite curious as well, so I unwrapped the gift wrap in front of everyone. There was a gorgeous small box made out of figured wood behind the wrap.

I slowly opened it and saw a pair of keys in it.

It took some time to process it, but when I did, my eyes opened up like saucers and I looked over at Mom and Dad.

"Son, I want you to know that this is your home and will always be your home. Your room here will always be ready for you to sleep in, and most importantly, we will always be here, ready to welcome you with open arms and lots of love. Heck, you can just live here forever if you want to. Nothing would make us happier than that. This house is just a gift from us, you can just use it to store rocks in it for all we care. Ow!"

"Baby, what your father said was all true but you're definitely not allowed to store rocks in that house! We had it made with so much care. You can just go there to admire it whenever you like."

They gave him the same gift that they had given to him in the past timeline. Some things just don't change, my parents' love for me never changed.

I didn't say anything and just came over and hugged both of them. They both hugged me tight as well.

It took some time but I finally took control of my emotions.

"Huhuhu~ Even if I start living in that house, don't think that you guys are safe enough to have your alone time~ I might just show up here in the middle of the night~"

"You little rascal~ Of course! We'll always be here to welcome our baby boy~ *Sniff**Sniff* Y-You grew up w-way too f-fast... *Sob**Sob*"

In the end, she couldn't control herself anymore and broke down in tears.

"Come here, Maa! I'll be freeloading here whenever I can. You don't need to worry at all. Your son is a bit too lazy to run an entire house alone."

I hugged her tight and tried my best to ease her worries.

"Mom, if he ever doesn't come back here in time then us girls will drag him here, even if he hides himself in a hole."

Melena came over and hugged Mom too. I just don't know how she made me a villain in all this…

"Yeah! You can count on us."

"Hehehe~ That would be quite fun~"

"I will drag Felix while touching him a bit…*ahem* Felix shall be dragged here ma'am, no question."

The girls chimed in as well. Let's just ignore Nora's comment altogether.

Although I was the butt of the joke this time too, at least Mom had calmed down because of it and even had a smile on her face.

She gazed at the girls with a strange light in her eyes and then gestured to me to give her my ear.

"Honey~ Always use protection~ Okay?~"

"...."

Well, now that she was in the mood to tease me, I could safely conclude that she was all good now…

.

.

.

.

.

The next day, in the morning.

We drove to the location of my house, along with Irene, Silia, and Nora.

We all couldn't fit in a single car, so Dad drove one along with Mom, while I drove the other along with the girls.

The house was different from the one I got in my past life. The location was just adjacent to my neighborhood and only took us 5 minutes to reach there. Our neighborhood was already quite close to the forest and the location I was given seemed even closer to it.

Dad had hidden his involvement in this project quite well from me. I had also been too busy to poke my nose around in other things.

As we drove closer to the location, I started to see a structure right in front of the lush forest. It didn't seem gigantic, but the walls surrounding it occupied a great amount of space.

Dad parked his car beside the main gate, I followed suit and did that too.

We all got out of the car and Dad gestured to me to do the honors.

I walked to the gate and unlocked it with the keys I was gifted.

*Creak*

I pushed open the gates and finally got a clear view of my house.

It was pretty big but also seemed quite simple. One could call it a mansion, but this one was made for living, not for making an art statement.

It had a navy blue tiled roof with chimneys jutting out of it. It seemed like a brick construction, made to last. Its earthen colors gave off a very warm, rustic feeling. Some ivy creepers were growing on the walls, giving the house even more character. Just from the outside, I could see small beautiful stained glass windows resting right above the normal windows. I couldn't wait to see how they would look from the inside.

Looking around in the front yard, I saw all kinds of flowering bushes and two bird baths on either side of the driveway.

"Don't get surprised just yet. I didn't tell you to come here this early for nothing. Now, let's go inside."

Dad rushed us and we finally entered the house.

*Gulp*

It didn't seem so big from the outside but now that I was inside, it felt way too big.

The interior was a mix of both rustic and modern aesthetics at the same time. The architect and the interior designers had done a great job at incorporating both these styles together.

It had a rustic look but had all the modern conveniences to make one's life easier.

There weren't any decoration pieces or art anywhere in the lounge. I could guess that they wanted me to make my own memories and decorate the house with them.

Dad held my shoulders and turned me to the side. What I saw was truly eye candy.

On one side of the lounge, the sunlight was at just the right angle for the stained glass windows to project their image onto the couches and the fireplace. It was mesmerizing.

The girls were also quite giddy after seeing the spectacle. I could already see their eyes scanning everything as if living here was inevitable for them, well it was… I wasn't gonna let go of any of them after they had played with my heart for so long.

The house wasn't just a gift for me but for all of us.

Dad made a sleazy smile at me and walked me around the house and upstairs. I finally got why he had such a sleazy smile. There were a lot of rooms in the house. One in particular was gigantic and it had a massive bed in it, it could easily accommodate 6-7 people sleeping on it without any problems at all.

Thankfully the girls were outside the room, thinking that it was just a simple room, like the other ones they had visited before this. I was sure that they would have quite the reaction after seeing this sight…

I stared at Dad with an intense gaze, but Dad's sleazy smile didn't go away, rather it widened even further as he led us in a particular direction.

He stood in front of a door and slowly opened it.

It was an indoor pool. That in itself wasn't a problem, being so close to the forest would definitely invite a lot of bugs to the pool if it wasn't indoors. But it was not just any pool, but a custom one that had jacuzzi features in it…

It seemed like the perfect place to 'relax' all year round with your partner(s)...

The faces of the girls reddened a bit after seeing it.

Mom had a smirk seeing the girls' reaction, she probably had a hint about what was going on between us. She just kept silent about it and let it cook.

Dad took us to the backyard and we saw a gazebo attached to the house, looking over the almost unending lawn. The whole front yard and backyard were surrounded but extremely tall walls, giving the occupant a more than satisfactory level of privacy.

Dad led us to the end of the backyard and opened a small gate. Beyond it was a beautiful lush forest, ready for us to hike in.

The tour finally came to an end and left me a bit overwhelmed.

They had gifted me a small cozy house in my previous life but this time, it was a bit over the top.

Of course, I didn't express those thoughts to them and happily thanked them for everything.

There was no doubt that they had thought of everything and knew all my preferences. Their thoughtfulness could be seen from brick to brick, even if that thoughtfulness was getting a bit nosy…

Even though I thanked them a lot, I also told them that I would be freeloading at home for a few more months. I plan to move here when 'Etheria' launches.

They both were overjoyed by my decision.

We were basically neighbors at this point, just 5 minutes away from each other. I didn't get why they were so emotional about it.

Well, if they're happy then I'm happy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

27th November, 2017

Happy days come. Happy days go…

… But at least, the memories I've made will last forever…

.

.

.

.

.

All the guild members sat in the conference room, their gazes transfixed on the screen.

Today was the day that 'Etheria' would be officially announced to the world.

As for this "game's" producers, they appeared out of nowhere, a week ago.

Through our connections, we checked their data entries and they all seemed normal. It was as if the company and its employees had always existed.

But I knew the truth.

They were just stand-ins that the Akashic Record had created and seamlessly assimilated into our world with its mysterious powers. They were just autonomous puppets with no life in them. The whole operation was run by Akashic Record, itself.

The governments and even the government members that I had 'Compelled', seemed quite normal about it. They didn't even question the safety of their products. As if reality itself was 'Compelled' by Akashic Record…

*We have brought you a special segment!~*

A news anchor from a national news channel announced.

*Sherilyn, what could be the news, for it to be so special?~*

*Hehe~ It is quite special~ You'll know when you see it~*

*Tsk, just get on with it.*

*A game company called 'Link Labs' proclaims that it has made the world's first ever fully immersive virtual reality game!*

*Inhale*

The guild members sucked in their breaths. It was all official now.

*What?! From what I know, the best virtual reality headset right now is 'Fokulous Slit'. Even that technology only transmits video to your eyes and nothing else. I've tried it before and it gave me motion sickness!*

*Huhuhu~ Well, they are just claims for now~ We'll have to see how things go~ Without further ado, please enjoy the official game footage that 'Link Labs' has sent us!*

The feed cut to the official release trailer.

Orchestral music (Elden Ring Main Theme) played out and the footage started.

It started with a swordsman wandering in the wild and encountering a wolf with glowing blue crystals jutting out of its spine. As they ran towards each other and were just on the brink of clashing, the beat of the music drummed and the scene changed.

We saw different wondrous and outlandish locations, panning and changing with each major beat. Each scene had a different person either fighting, spell casting, or nimbly traversing in those locations.

The chorus kicked in and the violins went ham. The scene changed to an army facing a horde of bizarre magical beasts and charging towards it.

As they were a breath away from each other, the final beat drummed and the title screen appeared.

'ETHERIA'

The footage seemed real, but unbelievable at the same time because of its fantastical elements.

The guild members and even my own Dad had their eyes widened like saucers. I had expected this to happen.

As they say, seeing is believing.

I had given them the descriptions and drawings of Etheria, but this single footage had made the most impact on them…

*Wow! Is this real or is this all CGI?!*

*Of course, this has to be CGI! But even this CGI looks better than what we see at the box office!"

*Mathew, don't come to conclusions just yet~ The game devs have not had a formal conference yet, so nothing is set in stone~*

*Cough, sorry, that was very unprofessional of me…*

*Dear Viewers, 'Link Labs' has announced 'Etheria' to launch this year, on the 27th of December. We'll update you on this story as more information comes out. Now, we'll take a short advertisement break, the next topic will be 'A man spotting Bigfoot'. See you afte-* *BEEP*

Dad turned off the news and stood up, facing everyone.

"It has become official now… as you can see, there's only a month left now."

"Richard, what do you want us to do in this period? Do we increase our training even more?"

Uncle Geralt asked.

"Exactly the opposite. All physical exertion will cease for this next month. If you want, you can polish your glyphs during this month-long break. But I don't recommend it either. The training has taken a toll on everyone, use this time to relax your body and mind. I want you all in the best conditions possible, on the date of the launch. Only those who are on the logistics and planning committee will still be doing their work. The first thing on their agenda would be to get as many Capsules as possible."

"Boss, when do you plan to announce the contract change to the other employees?"

"*Sigh* We'll be doing it tomorrow… I wish all of our employees had joined us at this point…"

*Sigh*

They all sighed along with Dad.

705 employees knew the truth and had officially joined our guild, out of our 758 total employees. There were still 53 of them left, they were all hard shells to crack. It doesn't mean that they were not trustworthy, their mindset was just not up to par with the standards we had set. I couldn't rush and 'Compel' them. They all had amazing talents above grade 'A', and will be our guild's pillars when they eventually join us. I was sure that more camaraderie would sprout in them as they go through 'Etheria' together.

For the time being, we could only keep them under the facade that 'We were going to play a game'.

*Ring*

I got a message on my phone. I checked it and it read that 'Link Labs' contacted our gaming channel to show their trailer.

*Sigh*

I called them up and approved the broadcast. I also told them to take a positive stance on it.

The general (non-gamer and unathletic) populace would be quite skeptical of 'Etheria'. It was also the source of bread and butter for many conspiracy makers.

This negative feedback had severely hampered 'Etheria's popularity in the last timeline, robbing people of the chance to awaken their talents.

I had already told Tri-Scar to eliminate all the conspiracy makers that I knew of from the last timeline. But I also knew that new ones would pop out eventually. If we were to eliminate those new ones, their claims might even start to take ground and the general populace would get even more alerted… It was a very muddy situation…

After some discussion and planning for the next day, we all left for our homes.

When I reached home, the girls were all present in Melena's room, along with Rolo.

They all had seen the news and seemed a bit nervous about it. Melena was especially hugging Rolo for comfort.

"Hehehe~ What are you all so nervous about?~ You guys are forgetting the fact that it is very fun to 'play' the 'game'~ For now, just relax and let me handle the current workload~"

"Hmph! Who's nervous? We were just excited after watching the footage!... and… Felix, don't tire yourself too much… you should relax as well…"

Silia justified herself and her sisters loudly but suddenly softened her voice in the second half.

"Hehe~ Don't worry about me. You guys will have to take care of me after you guys awaken. I am just a poor sod with a shitty talent."

"Hehe~ Sure~ You'll be our cute househusband~ Better start taking some cooking lessons~"

Irene's teasing directly struck my pride as a man. It hurt quite a bit so I retaliated.

"Speak for yourself. We don't know what talent you'll awaken. You might just end up like me~"

"Don't jinx it! Shut your foul mouth or I'll give you a serving of my homemade sucker punch!"

And so we bantered.

It seemed to have helped the girls relax and get out of their nervous mindset.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day.

We were in an extremely large hall. Big enough to easily accommodate 1000 people. There were hundreds of seats and each row of seats even had thin tables in front of them. The tables had name placards, document envelopes, and microphones on each one of them.

"I know you guys are a bit nervous about this emergency meeting, but please relax a bit."

Dad spoke with a mike in front of him.

This was the first time in this timeline that Dad had to call up an emergency meeting.

Evidently, some employees were a bit nervous.

By 'some employees', I meant those who were not in the know. The absolute majority of the people here were our own guild members.

You see, we had to put up this elaborate act, along with hundreds of our guild members. It was just to rake in all the small minority of people that were still left out of the loop.

Just to be safe, we had all 53 of them sign a NDA, before entering the hall. There just might be someone here who would back out. Of course those 53 thought that of the employees had signed the NDA.

(A/N: NDA: Non-Disclosure Agreement)

"I have an announcement to make, but before that, let's discuss something…I'm sure you guys have seen the game footage of 'Etheria', right?"

"Boss, what of it? I don't think that it is even game footage. It was most likely just some concept gameplay made with CGI."

A non-guild employee asked.

*SIGHHH*

Dad made an exaggerated sigh, he even rubbed his eyes to spice up the act. A screen was projecting his image on a large screen for all to see.

"That's where you are wrong. That footage was 100% real and what was shown was just the tip of the iceberg…"

*Inhale*

Everyone sucked in their breaths, including our guild members. They could do simple acting like this quite easily.

"B-Boss, are you so sure?"

"Yes, I have contacts everywhere. All those sources of information had reported to me the same thing… They all can't be lying, now can they?"

"Y-You surely have a plan to circumvent it r-right? H-How will we battle such a behemoth t-then?"

They were all veterans in this industry at this point. They could easily assess the consequences of having such a massive rival. Maybe not immediately, but people will start to go to 'Etheria' from our products.

"*Sigh* The tech they are using is highly secured. Not a single contact of mine could steal it. Our studio specializes in RPGs and this game will be hitting us like a truck, directly at that…"

"So are you going to announce the shutdown of this company today?....."

"No, that's not the announcement I was gonna make…"

Dad paused and looked over at everyone present.

"....While it's true that we cannot compete with them, who says that we really have to?"

Everyone including our guild members had confused expressions on their faces.

"I'm sure you all know it already, but let me tell you again. I am an extremely rich guy who also happens to be a die-hard fan of the 'Fantasy' genre. That weapon training gym is clear evidence of that. Even if the company doesn't produce a single game and you all freeload here, doing nothing at all. I would still be able to afford all your salaries and bonuses for the next 40 years, easily. That includes all 758 of you guys."

The people present were quite astonished at Dad's cocky words. Even our guild members were genuinely surprised at how rich Dad actually was. It has to be noted that we gave our employees a phenomenal amount of salary. Being rich enough to give the same salary for the next 40 years was simply dumbfounding for them.

The more shocking thing that they didn't know about was that this was just our current balance. In the future, it will increase even more.

"My point is, none of you have to worry about your financial situation because of this. What I want to announce is the opening of a new chapter for us. You all have the contracts in front of you. Open the envelope and see for yourself."

They all hurriedly opened the contracts that they had been itching to read all this time.

The non-guild members' expressions were really a sight to see. We had deployed some hidden cameras everywhere just to record their faces. Maybe in the future, if we make it, we could tease them by sharing the footage. Hehe~

.

.

.

After all of them read it, one employee held the mike and spoke.

"Boss…"

"I know you guys think that this is crazy, and I agree with you, it is CRAZY!... But I'm sure that all of you think this offer is positively crazy. It's on contract, nothing is hidden behind fine print. If you want to reread it, then take your time and do so."

No one disagreed with the choice and started to read the whole contract again. The guild members had to pretend to read it again, as well…

.

.

.

"Are you really gonna do it, Boss?..."

"Don't pretend like you don't wanna do it. I've seen all of you having the time of your lives when sparring and training with each other. It's a blessing for you guys that I don't allow any recording devices inside the gym, or else your crazy smiles would have been shared everywhere."

Guild members or not, they all had sheepish smiles on their faces. They didn't have anything on them to retaliate with, not that they could towards their own boss…

"From what I know, this game will have an extremely realistic and immersive environment. And the battles will be of epic proportions. I know that you'll all be playing it in the future, even without the incentives I'm giving you all. It might seem unreal that I'm giving you guys what you would call a freebie, but it's true and on contract."

"Boss… it might be a bit rude but can I say something to you?..."

"Go on, I'll let it slide if it isn't too much."

"You're bat-shit crazy!"

"Hehehe~ It seems like it, doesn't it?~"

*Chuckle*

After Dad laughed it off, the employees finally felt it was appropriate to release their chuckles as well.

"Before you guys make your decisions, do you have any questions about the new contracts?"

"Boss, the contract says that our base salaries will be the same as before, but are applicable to increase. What is the standard for increasing it?"

"That would be through the contributions you guys make when we form the guild. As for the time before the guild is officially formed in the game. We'll assign you your tasks in real life, you just have to complete and report them. There are also bonuses for doing better than demanded, so make some effort into the tasks."

"Boss, clause 41 states that we can also be demoted if we violate the guild orders and rules. How strict are the criteria and how severe will the demotion be?"

"I'm sorry to say this beforehand but I will be very strict when it comes to the matters of demotion. We'll be playing the game to fulfill my fantasies. Playing by the roles you'll be given is essential. You all are basically getting a freebie at this point. The least I expect of you all is to not deliberately disobey the guild rules and orders, and role-play along with me. As for the specifics of the demotion, if it was found out that you deliberately acted out, the demotion could range from salary cuts to even termination of the contract. But I have some faith in you guys, we've been working together for years now. I sincerely hope that day will never come."

Dad answered strictly but softened his tone at the last part.

The Q&A continued for a while, after that, Dad gave all of them some time to consider their options. The guild members just acted as if they were considering things… The hall was pin-drop silent.

*Shikshikshik*

The sound of writing echoed in the hall.

Someone had signed the contract.

She was one of our own. I knew about her 'patient but impatient' personality quite well…

It was Nora…

'I'll have to teach this tomboy a lesson…'

After seeing her sign, other guild members also followed suit and started to sign their contracts.

I could observe that the non-guild members were a bit astonished at their colleagues' decision-making speed. Even if the offer was heaven-sent, it was still a life decision for Christ's sake!

*Shikshikshik*

A non-guild member signed the contract…

The guild members noticed it too and grinned a bit.

*Shikshikshik**Shikshikshik**Shikshikshik*

The signing went on.

The guild members sporadically made the decision and signed the contract. No one noticed their foul play or even thought that foul play existed here.

10, 20, 30, 40

The number of non-guild members signing the contracts increased. In most cases, they signed it after seeing their colleagues beside them signing the contract with a smile.

45, 46, 47, 48, 49

No one said anything to each other, but the peer pressure was still heavy. Tens of people beside them had already signed the contract. All of them were looking at each other and smiling giddily.

Any normal person would think that they were smiling because they were excited. Little did they know that all of those people were giddy because their scheme had worked…

50…51...52...….53

And, it was done…

I was a bit nervous about it but thankfully it all worked out quite well. Maybe, we were overthinking things a bit too much. After all, the offer we had made to them was something only an idiot would deny.

"Hahahahaha! I'm glad that you all trust me enough to take a leap of faith for me! I swear on the Hudson name, that I'll make sure that your trust doesn't go unrewarded!"

"Hehehe~ Boss, what are you talking about? Only an idiot would leave the chance to get a freebie like this!"

Nora shouted out loud, without even using the mike….

We all chuckled at her comical behavior for a bit.

"Honestly, I would've invited you all to a party but processing so many contracts will take quite some time and effort from me. But to celebrate this occasion, be it the gym's or the office's cafe, all of their food and drinks will be free for a whole month. Eat whatever you want and however much you want! It's all on me!"

"Woohoo!" "Boss, you're the best!" "Hahahaha!"

There was a reason why they were all so ecstatic. The food in our cafes was just that fucking good, simple as that…

All the people present here went up to Dad, gave him their signed contracts, and then said their goodbyes before taking their leave.

It was as if I was having a fever dream with adults acting like junior school students and giving their assignments to Dad…

After they all left, Dad called up a guy who was extremely high up in the political social ladder and ordered him to approve the contracts he would be sending over. It was a pretty overbearing way to talk but we had both gotten used to it at some point.

Our work was not over yet though, we still had our sister game companies and their employees to add to the guild.

The process for them would be quite simple, actually. They were just normal people with pretty average talents, ranging from 'E' to 'C'. They were already quite happy with their salaries and work environment.

Although we had met with them frequently to 'Compel' them, most of them still thought that we were just inspectors. It never occurred to them that we were the mysterious big bosses because of the way we humbly interacted with them.

The only ones who knew of our real identities were those who originally worked in Dad's company. They were transferred to the sister companies to take the helm there and to also make space for the important players in our main company. I had already 'Compelled' all of them way back in time. They were very loyal to us and didn't tell anyone about us.

One by one, we made our way to the sister companies and had them sign the new contracts. They signed them without any hiccups whatsoever, they had all already been subtly 'Compelled' by me, years back. My mana had grown enough to hard 'Compel' at least 70 people at once. I just had to put the final nail in the coffin this time, which took even less effort than hard 'Compel'.

The whole process took about a week or so. In return, we gained 1100 new guild members.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

7th December, 2017

It was Irene's 18th birthday.

She wanted it to be simple like mine, but Aunty Martha and Uncle Harry didn't listen to a single thing. They organized a grand party in a well-known restaurant to celebrate their daughter's adulthood.

The cake-cutting ceremony happened and the party officially started.

Well, it was a pretty rowdy party. Many people were invited there, some that even I was seeing for the first time.

The sad part was that Irene was busy attending to all the guests. She barely had any time to talk to me. I didn't sulk over it like a kid and just enjoyed the party, chatting with the ones I knew.

Suddenly, my instincts told me that something was flying towards me. I caught the object, which was a small decorative star, and looked over at the direction it came from.

Irene was there, crouching and signaling me to follow her.

I smirked and disappeared from my spot like I was never there to begin with.

I exited the hall and heard footsteps from upstairs. Following the sounds, I finally reached the roof of the building.

Irene was there, standing with her back facing me.

She was wearing a white dress with lace sleeves and a frilly bottom. Honestly, if not for a tiara decorating her braided blonde hair, instead of a veil, I would've thought that she was readying herself to be a bride… A bride that I would readily take, without asking a single question.

*Step**Step**Step*

She wasn't turning around, so walked up to her and lightly hugged her waist from behind. Irene leaned her back on my chest and softly hummed while holding onto my hands.

It was the first time we were this intimate with each other. We didn't say anything and just relished in each other's warmth. For people who didn't leave a chance to banter with each other, we were awfully quiet, right now. We already knew exactly what was going on in each other's minds and the feelings we had for each other.

*Smooch*

I gave a big loving smooch on the back of her head and that earned me giddy giggles from her.

I released her from the hug and turned her over towards me. Our eyes locked onto each other and our breaths mixed.

Even if we knew of each other's feelings, even if it was absolutely redundant, I still had to say it…

"Irene, you might not know it, but you have always been my sunshine in my darkest days… Just remembering your brightness has dragged me out of my abyss so many times… I feel alive when I am with you… *Sniff* You don't know how hollow I had felt without you. *Sniff*...."

Tears flowed down from both of our eyes, but we didn't stray our gazes from each other.

"...I love you."

I didn't wait for her reply and directly kissed her while holding her waist. She kissed me back and hugged my neck.

It was a kiss full of our raw emotions. Our lips locked onto each other and didn't budge, as if they wanted to permanently bond with each other. Our arms hugged each other even tighter in passion. We stayed in the same position for a very long time…

When our lips finally separated, our heads and noses touched each other as we breathed in each other's scents.

"Listen to me, Mr. Felix Hudson~ You took a maiden's first kiss without even listening to her answer~ What do I get for it?~ "

"What do you want?~ Mrs. Hudson~"

I lowered one of my hands from her waist to her thicc ass and copped a nice feel.

*Slap*

Irene suddenly slapped my hand away from her ass and spoke.

"Not so easy, Dar-ling~ I'm not like the other two~ I won't be taking anything less than full action for our first session~ What I want from you is to completely get rid of the feeling you have inside you from the root. As quickly as possible. That's an order."

I leaned forward a bit and seductively whispered into her ear.

"Aye Aye, ma'am~ I'll make sure that my cock ravages your pussy as soon as possible~"

Irene shuddered a bit as my warm breath and my debauched words touched her ear. Honestly, if I can't find a solution to this feeling in an adequate amount of time, I may just ignore it entirely and start making babies with my lovely wives.

"Hehe~ You still need the experience to tease me~ Let's go back now~ They're all probably wondering where the birthday girl disappeared. Little do they know that the birthday girl was busy giving an ultimatum to fuck her~"

"Hey! Stop with the dirty talks! Take it slow, I'm not used to it!"

Irene's whole face had turned beet red because of my vulgar language.

*Chuckle*

I relented and escorted her back to the hall after another short kiss.

When we went down again, the party seemed to be close to its end.

Aunty Martha caught sight of us together and winked at Irene, before scurrying away. I looked at the direction she was heading and dreaded it. She was going towards my Mom…

I looked over to the other side and saw Melena and Silia smirking at us. At the very least, they recognized the sacrifices Irene had made for them and were happy for her.

The party finally came to an end and we all left for our homes.

It was a nice day to distract ourselves from what was coming.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

26th December, 2017

Tomorrow will be the launch of 'Etheria'.

I was checking on everything, along with Dad.

We had ordered the Game Capsules directly for 'Link Labs'. The amount we had ordered was nothing to joke about.

It was two hundred thousand…

Each capsule costs $5000 on a lump sum plan. The bastards from that company didn't even give us a discount…This spending spree alone cost us a Billion Dollars… but it was necessary.

Just Tri-Scar alone had close to sixty thousand members at this point. Then came our roughly 2000 employees. We also sent capsules to the relatives of our employees. On average here were 12 family members that our employees wanted to play with, and in our insider guild members case, the people who they wanted to awaken.

We were left with roughly 115k Capsules now, but we had a plan for them for the future.

If they were limited products then I would have rushed to get as many of them as possible. But there was no need to worry about it. Their numbers were infinite. Akashic Record was probably pulling these capsules out of its ass and selling them for such an outrageous price.

Well, it wasn't that big of a price compared to what it could do but I was a bit salty for not getting a discount… shut up.

I was currently in my own house, which my parents had gifted to me.

A week ago, I had already set up my Game Capsule here. The girls had barged in as well and demanded for their Capsules to be set up just beside mine.

I was expecting this to happen so I just quietly did as they told me to do. There was no point in bantering. We all knew that we loved each other at this point. I was also too busy to waste my time bantering.

Everyone involved in the planning committee, which included me and Dad as well, had come to a decision. It was to spawn in the same kingdom, but pick different locations within it as starting points.

This served a five-fold purpose for us.

1- We didn't need to fight for early resources among ourselves.

2- There always were locations that were more favorable towards a specific type of player. I had all the knowledge about those locations and had already distributed the most appropriate starting locations to all my members.

3- There were a ton of quests and treasures in all these different places. It would be a loss to let strangers have them. Like before, I had already shared the relevant knowledge with all the members.

4- Even if we were spread out around a whole kingdom, we could easily take the cross-city teleportation services to regroup. Cross-kingdom teleportation was far more complicated and expensive.

5- I really wanted us to be an ally of one specific kingdom and set up our guild there. Our guild members leaving a positive footprint everywhere there would definitely help us in the long run.

As for Tri-Scar and its massive amounts of members; 20k of them would be spawning in the same kingdom as my guild. The rest of the 40k members will be spread out throughout the whole world of Etheria. They would be spying, infiltrating, information collecting, assassinating, and looting treasures throughout Etheria.

I had already told Salazar to make a database of the talents of all the gang members and give it to me. I didn't tell him about my purpose for wanting the database.

This last month has been quite the fucker to me. I was constantly busy with something or was held back by some problem.

When it rains, it really does pour…

Thankfully, everything was sorted out by now and I could get a nice long sleep today.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

27th December, 2017

I had breakfast at my parents' house and drove back to my house with the girls.

Perhaps it was because of adrenaline or something like that, but the girls were quite calm today. I checked them through telepathy and sensed that they all genuinely felt this way.

"Fel, do we really have to be separated like this? Why don't you come and join us from the start?"

Before I could even reply, Irene barged in with a smirk.

"Mel, you know that you'll be spawning in an assassin-friendly location, right? It's the same with Silia and her mage-friendly spawn poin-"

"Shut up!" X2

As Irene started to lecture them, Mel and Silia quickly shut her up.

"What?~ You guys are just jealous that I'm gonna spend my early gameplay with Felix~ *bonk* *OOF!*"

"Tsk. What are you guys even bantering about? We had already discussed it before. I'll be taking Irene to a profession-neutral village. I don't know what kind of talent she will get, but with me beside her, she should be fine."

"Can't you take us with you then?..."

"Absolutely not, you hear that? I want both of you to do your best in your assigned locations or else the consequences will be dire. Understood?"

They both had 'SSS' Grade talents. I wouldn't squander any chances for them to get stronger.

"Okay…" X2

Both of them were a bit crestfallen.

*Sigh*

I felt a pang in my heart seeing them be so down, but this had to be done.

*Smooch* *Smooch*

I walked over to them and kissed both of their heads to comfort them a bit.

*Giggle*

It seemed to have done the trick, at least they were a bit uplifted now.

"Alright, Etheria would be launching soon. Let's get inside our capsules now."

I went towards my Capsule.They all followed suit and headed toward their respective Capsules as well.

The best way to describe it would be a long egg-shaped silver coffin. It was a very long oval with a curved glass door to open the cavity inside.

*Shhhhhh*

The Capsules opened up and we saw very narrow beds inside. As soon as we lay down, the doors started to slowly automatically close.

"Alright guys, best of luck! Love you guys!"

"Love you too!" X3

"Hehe"

The capsule closed and darkness enveloped my eyes.

.

.

.

[Initializing System]

An emotionless voice rang out and a message panel in pale blue font appeared in front of my eyes.

[Detected that this device is registered to 'Felix Hudson']

[Scanning User]

[Scan Completed]

[Login Successful!]

[Etheria will be launching in 42 seconds.]

After the login was successful, a countdown clock hovered in front of me and ticked away...

[Alert: Etheria has officially launched!]

[Welcome all Users! We hope you have an exciting adventure in our wonderous World!]

[Moving User to the Awakening Chamber!]

The pitch-black space around me started to change into a space with deep violet-colored clouds with star-like objects, shimmering everywhere. It was a mesmerizing sight...

This was the space where players awakened their talents in the name of a 'Lucky Draw'. I was quite curious about how the system and the Akashic Record would react to my already awakened talent.

[Starting User Talent Draw]

[Draw in process]

The violet clouds swirled around, with me as their center. The star-like shimmering objects glowed brightly and emitted some kind of waves that I felt for the first time. I didn't even notice these mysterious waves in my previous life.

But then, suddenly, the violet clouds and the tiny stars started to suddenly accelerate and enveloped me inside. It was as it I was in the middle of a raging violet tornado.

[Draw in prrrroccce§§§∆π€^°¢¥€

ERROR! ERR#¢€&§∆√∆§¶∆Ω]

'WHAT! Why is this happening in this timeline too?!'

I didn't panic and was just astonished at the turn of events.

I had experienced the exact same situation before in the previous timeline as well and knew that things would become fine in a few minutes.

As I had predicted, the erroneous screen was removed and a new prompt finally appeared.

[Talent Draw Successful!]

As soon as the new prompt showed up, the tornado started to loose its momentum.

The massive tornado collapsed on itself and all its matter, from the clouds and the tiny stars, started to get sucked into my body's pores. I didn't feel much. It was as if they weren't even made of matter, but were a mere projection.

I sighed in relief seeing that the process had ended just like the last time.

But whatever feeling of relief I had within myself, instantly evaporated into nothingness when I read the next prompt.

[Congratulations User on Awakening!...

[Talent: Primeval Dragon's Bloodline

Rank: EX ] ]

I felt nauseous looking at the screen.

'First, it was a shitty talent with ''SSS' Rank' stapled on it like a joke!….and now this?!.... What even is this fucking 'EX' Rank?!... I'm getting fucked over this time too, aren't I?!…..'

(A/N: I've burned midnight oil in order to write this chapter. Y'all better fucking start praising this PP-SAMA.

Leave a power stone if you like my content…and…

Thank You all for reading this chapter!!!)