World Online: Rise of the Strongest Hero

In a darkened room, the tapping sounds of a keyboard and mouse were the only sign that there was life in the place. Wrapped in a blanket and sizable pillow, a teenager stares at his computer screen seriously. Several times the teenager was heard clucking or grumbling. At one point, the teenager suddenly removed his hands from the keyboard and mouse he had been holding.

"Finally ..."

After he had spent all his time finishing the game he had just bought, hearing the closing music was more like victory music to his ears. The teenager hummed a little for a while. His dull eyes stared at the ceiling of his dark room. The smile on his face disappeared as he thought back to how he came to be at this point.

Elijah was a golden boy born into a harmonious family. Unfortunately, having parents with high positions made him big-headed. Throughout his school years, Elijah got into all sorts of trouble because he thought his parents would always be there to solve any problems he made.

Despite this, his parents still loved Elijah. Elijah was their favorite son. That wouldn't change even if Elijah turned into a little demon.

His life was perfect until the accident that killed his parents took away all his happiness.

Thanks to a call for the two to come to school because Elijah was getting into trouble again, the couple died in an accident. The accident made Elijah left alone, and constantly blamed himself for making trouble that day.

A hell that Elijah had never seen appeared one after another after that. Whether it was his relatives arguing for his custody over the wealth he had or his grandparents cursing him for being a bad boy, all of them dealt Elijah a big blow. Even the people at school couldn't help Elijah through his difficult time. They knew his parents died because of the trouble he caused. So, they secretly talked about it and slowly shunned Elijah.

In the end, Elijah breaks into pieces. He didn't care about himself anymore and shut himself in his house without proper food or sleep.

Elijah remembered that his friends said that playing games always managed to make them forget everything. So, he started immersing himself in the world of gaming from then on. One by one, Elijah began to finish games. Nothing made Elijah feel alive other than the games he finished one by one at an increasing rate each time.

"How many times have I played the same game? Ten times? A hundred times? I can't seem to remember anymore."

With a body that was already like a living corpse, Elijah began to lay his body on the cold floor. For some reason, the teenager felt he was exhausted today. Even during the game, Elijah had to work hard to stay awake and finish the game. His hands were shaking the whole time, probably because he forgot to eat somewhere along the line.

Elijah looked down at his own hands, then let out a long sigh. He had never felt like this before. Even if Elijah hadn't slept for days, nothing could make his body this tired.

"Am I going to die?"

That thought suddenly crossed Elijah's mind. However, it wasn't enough to scare him about death itself. Elijah let out a creepy laugh as his throat felt so dry. He laughed at his situation, especially after he failed to end his life so many times.

"If this is my time to die, I'll be grateful. Dying from playing too many games. I wonder if Mom and Dad will scold me if they find out the reason for my death."

Elijah's eyes were teary, but he tried not to cry when he thought about his parents. Only God knew how much Elijah missed his parents. Without them, Elijah felt that the world looked so scary and suffocating.

"I want to see them again... I want to correct my mistakes, instead of lying down as a useless person like this."

"I...."

"I wish I could turn back time to save them."

After saying the last sentence, Elijah could no longer contain his fatigue and began to close his eyes. No one knows how long Elijah closed his eyes. But the next moment, a loud mechanical noise forced Elijah to open his eyes again.

[The requirements for transmigration have been met. User Elijah, you have successfully unlocked the rare requirement to transmigrating. Dying from too much gaming is not something that many humans can do. Now, are you ready to take the chance to play another game?]

Elijah subconsciously began to furrow his brow as a line of words filled his vision once he regained consciousness. It was only when Elijah noticed the area around him, he finally realized that he was no longer in his messy room. The room Elijah was currently in had pure white walls. There was nothing there except for a small transparent screen that contained the same writing as the voice he had heard inside his head.

"This is ...."

Elijah looked down at his hand, then saw that his pitiful hands had returned to its original shape. Elijah's brain seemed to be failing to process many things at once. The teenager pinched his skin and felt a sting of pain that indicated he was not dreaming at the moment.

Did the afterlife allow him to feel pain? Elijah thought not. To him, the afterlife shouldn't be an empty white space like the one he was standing in.

[User Elijah, are you willing to complete another game with your abilities? A reward will be given to you if you manage to kill the demon king and become a hero in the game world.]

Elijah heard a voice in his head, then looked down to see the writing on the transparent screen in front of him changing automatically. Elijah subconsciously frowned after that. Elijah was not the right person to carry such a heavy task with his personality. For Elijah, who could not even save his parents, becoming a hero was like asking him to do something impossible.

"You're asking the wrong person. I'm not a hero or someone who intends to be a hero, the one that brought me here."

Elijah spoke coldly, not caring about who was talking to him in that strange place. All he wanted to save was his parents. The other person, or whoever it was, he didn't care about them at all.

[User Elijah, the system will arrange for wishes to come true if you can complete the main mission the system is giving. Whether it's returning to the past or reviving those who have died, the system will grant whatever the User requests.]

"That's...."

Elijah's eyes shone for the first time. What someone who call themselves 'System' offer to him was exactly what Elijah wanted all this time. The frown on Elijah's forehead began to disappear, especially when he felt that turn back time or whatever it is was no longer impossible when he alone could experience something absurd like this.

[One more. The User will not lose any abilities gained in the game world, even if the User returns to his world. With this kind of reward, would the User be willing to sign a contract with me?]

The offer given by the system was too good, to the point where it seemed unbelievable to Elijah. Elijah knew that tempting offers must come with difficult consequences. But with his past, did Elijah have the right to think about it?

For him, who failed to pick up death and was the cause of his parent's death, this offer was an opportunity that only came to him once in a lifetime. Elijah didn't want to miss such an opportunity, even if he had to rot in hell just to complete the task given by the system.

"I just need to become a hero, right?"

[Yes. And to do so, you need to kill the demon king.]

Elijah took a deep breath, then made an important decision in such a short time.

"I'll do it. Become a hero or whatever. I'll do it as long as you promise I can turn back time after everything is over."

Elijah shouldn't have believed the words of the mysterious voice that spoke to him. Yet, Elijah did. He answered confidently, hoping that his decision would end the guilt that had been haunting him.

[Of course. We can make a contract to ensure that all parties take responsibility for their respective obligations.]

The system's confident reply succeeded in making Elijah believe, so he didn't say anything more until the system finished preparing everything.

[User, please put your fingerprint on the screen to sign the contract between the System and the User. The game that the User must complete is a game with a difficulty level of hell. The main task is to kill the Demon King and become a recognized hero in that world.]

Elijah saw the transparent screen was writing a contract and began to read it. It didn't matter, even if the difficulty level was hell. From the beginning, Elijah had known that the mission would be difficult if the reward is so tempting.

Elijah tapped his thumb on the screen until the contract was declared valid. Elijah heard the sound of the system again after that. This time, however, the voice came along with a blinding light that forced Elijah to close his eyes.

[The contract is valid, and the system will start the world transfer in three.]

[3... 2... 1.]

[The system successfully transferred User Elijah to a world with the difficulty level of hell. The continent of Rhodes, a continent that will be overrun by the demon army in five years.]