Changing the Course of the World (1)

Meeting with his friends went as he thought it would go.

Chris went to one of his old friends who worked as a manager at a local restaurant. He was the only one he would be able to meet locally and in working time. Others either moved to other cities for their jobs and the ones that remained had jobs that couldn't be disturbed in the middle.

So he went to one of his old friends, James, who works at a restaurant. It didn't go too well.

James now works at a five-star restaurant, with a huge paycheck. The years away or the huge paycheck changed him a lot from the guy Chris knew when they were young.

Though he spoke politely, Chris could pick up the condescending and sarcastic tone in his words. The only reason for James's politeness was that there were guests around and he didn't want to appear as a dick.

Chris didn't want to bother James anymore, so he took the contact numbers of others and left the restaurant. He would contact them when they would be free to talk. There is no need to go all the way to meet them and be humiliated.

"James, it looks like you changed a lot. You are not the same meek little boy who used to seek protection under my shade. Hmph, now that you have a huge paycheck, you think you are way above others, and don't need me. So be it then. You would only regret it later and wouldn't find a tree to shelter you", Chris muttered to himself.

---

Once he returned home, he cleaned up before sitting down in his room to try and see if his plan would work.

"Let's use the meditation technique. I already remembered from the game, all I have to do now is remember every detail and follow it perfectly. If I could do that, then I would be able to form a Mana Core. After that comes the formation of Mana veins. When I get those two, it will become easier for me to use magic here in this world, even after the Abyssals invade the world", Chris thought to himself.

Sure he could use his powers in this world but that would be much later. The reason why that happened later was not known to him but what would happen is that people would realize that they could use the power from the game in the real world.

This would cause a frenzy on both Earth and Aredia.

People would enter Aredia in large numbers to see if they could get something that could help them on Earth. A lot of players would end up in Aredia, hunting and levelling causing overpopulation in certain regions.

Overpopulation means that not everyone would have a chance to get their hands on resources, which would cause conflicts and a severe headache to the heads of nations of Aredia.

The issue there wouldn't be as problematic as it would be on Earth. In Aredia, there is resurrection. Though there are penalties for dying, they would still be alive after death which was not the case on Earth.

Anarchy. Earth would see anarchy, which it has not seen in such a large state in not hundreds but thousands of years. Even in the medieval or ancient ages, though there was anarchy, there was order. The world became a world of primitive tribes, whose only instincts are on how to survive.

In a time of chaos and anarchy, heroes rise and they did.

Chris doesn't want what happened last time to happen again. Though he possessed powerful abilities, he was considered weak, one of the medium-powered ones. He lost his home and his sister was injured in a terrorist attack, which ultimately led to her death.

Remembering that time only angered Chris. He remembered the words of his "friend" when he was dying. His friend was the cause of that accident and his sister's death. In this life, he is going to repay the favour multiplied.

Chris shook his head to remove those thoughts. For the meditation to work, he has to be free of things from outside. All his concentration should be on mana and forming a core.

He straightened himself, pushed away the useless thoughts and concentrated.

---

Several hours went by as he was deeply immersed in meditation, only to be woken up by a series of notifications.

[Bzz...Bzz...Connecting 1%...5%....90%]

[Connection successful.]

[Detected that you have successfully formed your Mana Core.]

[Congratulations, you are the first person to do so on Earth after the Fall.]

[You have gained the title, Earthborne.]

[Your Mana Reserves are increased by 50% and consumption is reduced by 50% while on Earth or its moon. The buff disappears after you leave the Solar System.]

[Since the Earth is still partially reawakened, your status screen is locked. You can only view partial status.]

[You awakened on a partially awakened world. You gained the title, Ascension Pioneer.]

[Ding!]

[You possess the title Ascension Pioneer. You have a quest.]

[World Quest: Help Earth awaken its core and stop the intruders(if any).]

Time Limit: One Year

Rewards: The rewards are based on your performance. If the core awakens perfectly within the time frame, you will gain the maximum benefits.]

[Would you like to accept the quest?]

[Yes/No]

When Chris saw those notifications, his expression changed. It was not the expression of surprise that appeared on his face. No, it was something else.

"What the hell is this?" he shouted out loud.