Reborn As The Count’s Son In An MMORPG - 1

The doorbell rings out like a clarion call as the door to the local game store swings open. A young man saunters in, his hands firmly entrenched in the pockets of his puffy coat.

"Alex! You're cutting it close, we were just about to close up shop." The man behind the counter bellows, waving a hand in greeting.

"Phew, glad I made it." Alex responds, brushing off the snow that clings to his coat.

As Alex approaches the counter, his gaze falls on the sign behind the store owner, "Global Launch: Limitless VRMMORPG 9:30 pm!".

Alex swiftly scans his card and pays for his pre-order of the revolutionary new game, "Limitless", which promises an unprecedented level of immersion by tapping into the player's nervous system and senses.

With payment complete, the store owner packs the game hardware and software into a bag and places it on the counter.

Just as Alex reaches for the bag, the store owner exclaims, "Hold on a sec, I almost forgot about the pre-order bonus!" He then retrieves a metallic gold coin from beneath the counter and taps it on the countertop before handing it to Alex.

"What's this? I didn't know there was a pre-order bonus besides the early pick up time." Alex asks, scrutinizing the coin.

"Apparently, the developers sent them out to participating stores, but didn't really promote them." The store owner explains.

"Thanks, I appreciate it. Have a good one!" Alex says as he exits the store, gold coin in hand.

Amidst the falling snow, Alex strides down a deserted side street, clutching his shopping bag and staring at his phone screen.

*9:03 pm*

"Damn it, I'm running late!"

Panic surges through Alex as he realizes that the new VRMMORPG "Limitless" is set to go live in less than 30 minutes.

The game is the second of its kind to be released, following the closure of its predecessor, "Infinite Online," a few months ago.

Scouring through the VRMMORPG forums, Alex observes an outpouring of excitement from fellow gamers as they prepare for the game's launch.

'HERE WE GO BOYS' [Posted 1m ago by: B00TYslayer69]

'RIDE THE HYPE TRAIN!' [Posted 3m ago by: ZaFe DropShotter]

'ANYONE ELSE GET ONE OF THESE WEIRD COINS' [Posted 4m ago by: DoomFish]

Reply: 'my store didn't have any' [Posted 2m ago by: RogueSlasher12]

And amidst the buzz, Alex notices a message that stands out:

'I will be the #1 player…' [posted 5m ago by: Flame Emperor]

"Who the hell is Flame Emperor?" Alex muses while pacing along the old asphalt road.

*honk!*

Startled, Alex looks up from his phone and sees a massive freight truck hurtling towards him, unable to slow down.

In a desperate attempt to dodge the oncoming vehicle, Alex stumbles and falls hard onto the pavement. Looking up, all he can see is the blinding glare of the truck's high beams.

"Oh, f*ck!"

...

As darkness descends, a blue digital window pops up in front of Alex like a notification in a game.

[You have died…]

[Would you like to reincarnate? (Cost: 1 gold coin)]

Befuddled, Alex finds himself unable to move or feel anything at all.

In front of him is a simple prompt with two options: "Yes" or "No."

Without a second thought, Alex taps "Yes."

[You have reincarnated.]

…

As Alex slowly awakens, he's suddenly dazzled by a blazing beam of sunlight streaming through a grand window. Instinctively, he squints and shields his eyes, struggling to adjust to the radiance.

Rubbing his eyes, he gradually sits up, taking in his surroundings. "What is this place?" he murmurs, still half-dazed from sleep.

Before he can ponder further, a sudden commotion draws his attention. A young maid rushes in, frantically pulling the curtains shut to block out the intense glare.

"Good morning, young master!" she exclaims, with a mix of concern and relief. "We were worried you might never wake up. You've been sleeping for days!"

Alex's eyes widened in surprise as he stared at the young woman standing in front of him. "Who are you?" he asked, feeling a twinge of confusion.

The woman's face fell, and she looked almost sad as she replied, "My name is Clara, and I've been your maid for a whole month now. Don't you remember me?"

Alex racked his brain, but he couldn't recall a single memory of this Clara person. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember anything at all," he admitted. "Was I in a coma? …all I can remember is a truck." He said while scratching the side of his head.

Clara's expression shifted from sadness to confusion. "A truck?" she repeated, tilting her head to the side like a curious puppy. "What's a truck?"

It was then that Alex noticed something strange about her. Her ears were furry, like those of a cat or a dog and she had a short and fluffy tail.

He felt a flush of embarrassment wash over him as he struggled to compose himself. "Uh, nothing," he stammered. "I don't remember anything at all."

Clara's ears stood up "Oh! I have to go tell someone you're awake!" She said before darting out of the room.

Clara's sudden departure left Alex feeling a bit bewildered, but he soon forgot about it as he focused on getting out of bed. As he stood up, he realized that his body felt different somehow.

Curious, he walked over to the mirror in the corner of the room and stared at his reflection. What he saw took his breath away.

Staring back at him was the body of a teenage boy with blond hair and bright blue eyes. His features were handsome and his body was in decent shape for his age. "Wow!" he muttered in disbelief, almost shocked at his own appearance.

"You really are awake… little brother." As alex turns in response to the voice he see's a man with similar features to his standing in the open doorway, slightly taller than him so he must be older.

Alex jolts awake at the sound of a voice calling him "little brother." He turns to see a figure in the doorway, with strikingly similar features to his own. The man is slightly taller, so it must be his older brother.

"You're my brother?" Alex blurts out, his face twisted in confusion.

"Are you kidding me?" the man replies, stepping into the room. "It's me, Emilio. Your own flesh and blood. Did you really forget me?" He respond as he steps into the room.

As Alex and Emilio exchange confused looks, a new figure emerges in the doorway. This man is much taller than either of them, with a well-trimmed beard and distinguished gray hair.

"Alexander...you're awake," the man booms, his deep, commanding voice filling the room.

"Father?" Emilio sputters, clearly taken aback.

"Father.." Alex echoes, still trying to make sense of the situation.

"Both of you, come downstairs for breakfast." The man responds before turning back and leaving the way he came.

Alex looked shocked at how cold his father acted, isn't he supposed to be this guys son? He thought.

"Well since you really don't seem to remember anything, don't take it to heart, father is always like that" Emilio exclaims after seeing the look on Alex's face.

"Get dressed and come downstairs, you still remember how to do that much right?" Emilio asked almost rhetorically.

"Yeah…"

After Emilio left, Alex went over to the wardrobe by the wall and picked out some non formal looking clothes.

"This should be fine right?".

Alex walked out his room closing the door behind him and began walking towards the stairs down the wide hallway.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs a blue notification window popped up in front of him.

[Congratulations, you've unlocked your first achievement: Awakening].

[Reward Calculated: User Interface enabled]

"Achievement, reward, user interface?" Alex asked as the edges of his vision changed now a new digital window suddenly opened detailing his identity and his stats right in front of him.

[Name: Alexander Lodestar]

Level: 1

Titles: None

Class: None

Skills: None

Magic: None

• Vitals:

Health: 25

Stamina: 25

Mana: 0

• Stats:

Constitution: 1

Strength: 1

Endurance: 1

Agility: 1

Mind: 0 (not yet activated)

"What the f*ck…"

END OD THE FIRST CHAPTER!