Sakamoto Mitsanuri and Hiro Shoujiro

The gamer bestfriends who always become the greatest of all when it comes to games

After of immence experiences and a long journey, each time they played all new released games
Until they found the game that will fulfill their standards for a game quality.

That game was "Dragnar MMORPG”
Open world map, highly recommended and top 1 trending game
Many people have played out of extremely high and excellent ratings and recommendations.

They have waited the upcoming release as it was shown in the teaser
The teaser was really amazing that convinced them to play it.

The day has come the game were finally out
Millions of people signed in for once
It has became a phenomenon even it was a beta game yet
It has little malfunctions for it's still a “Beta Game”
Both of them was trapped inside the game after they took a break and noticed that the log out in the settings was gone
They both were sucked inside by the computer and all of the person who played the game as also.

But not as the other players, Sakamoto and Hiro respawned at an unexpected high leveled map without even knowing the reason
Surprisingly, it's only two of them but they got separated with each other.

In this game; once you die, you'll never respawn again
They must be cautious to survive and stay alive as long as they still dont know the main reason of all this happenings.

Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play

Mr. Fang suddenly found that people were staring at him with weird looks on their faces.
"Why are you staring at me?" Mr. Fang touched his face. "Do I have flowers on my face?"
The others were speechless.
"Pooh! Scummy shop owner!" Mu Qing mumbled and turned back to her game.
The others who had wanted to watch the shop owner's defeat looked embarrassed.
They were not on the same level as Mr. Fang. Obviously, Mr. Fang had reached quite a high level in the understanding of different strategies and making the different units work in harmony while they were still at the stage of simply moving armies.
"He's really good!" Zong Wu was amazed to find that the young shop owner had such a good understanding of strategies.
"Boss, how come you're also good at this game?" Jiang Xiaoyue stared at his screen curiously with wide-open eyes. "Boss, what were those things that you just used? They are indeed powerful!"
She had seen that there were many 'spiritual ships' parked in Gu Tingyun's base after the carriers were sent out to attack. However, these ships were all destroyed by Mr. Fang's bomb which also left a terrifying crater in the ground.
"That weapon was indeed powerful!" Li Lanruo still looked fearful when she recalled the shocking sight of the mushroom cloud and the power which shattered everything in one instant. "The humans look tiny and fragile, but their spiritual weapons are so powerful. I wonder how they make these spiritual artifacts!"
It was more than powerful! Its power went beyond their imagination!
"How could humans are so powerful?!"
Hearing this question, everyone turned to look at him.
"Um…" Mr. Fang didn't know how to answer this question of how to make a nuclear missile. I'm just the owner of an internet café; how can I explain this to you?
"Let's enter the game to find the answer!" Tang Yu said.
…
In the other two shops, the customers were mostly playing the campaign mode. Right now, there were no group chats in QQ for StarCraft yet, but someone had created the StarCraft Post Bar. The new players of this game could open and browse the post bar when they took a break from fighting battles in the campaign mode.
Not everyone would play the new games when they just came out. Most of the customers were still playing old games; only the customers who loved new things or followed the footprints of the shop owner tried StarCraft.
However, with the increase of the players in the shops, there were many people playing StarCraft already.
They included old players such as Su Tianji, Li Haoran, Duan Yue who was the head artifact master who led the project of the Heavenly Mirror in the Half City Shop, and the disciples of the Nanhua Faction.
Even Nalan Hongwu, a loyal player of Diablo and the Legend of the Sword and Fairy, had begun playing StarCraft since it was a product of Blizzard.
At this moment, Nalan Hongwu had just finished a battle while controlling Raynor in campaign mode. He took a break and opened the post bar.
Then, he was startled; there were thousands of replies to posts in the newly-established StarCraft Post Bar.
[Where Is StarCraft happening?] Soon, he saw a post that was really popular in the post bar.
He opened the post and saw that it was from a girl with ID 'Sprite'. There were many screenshots in the post, including a picture showing the limitless universe with a huge black metal spaceship filling the screen. Above the ship was a dark red planet.
The spaceship traveled silently in the void like an island, followed by many small strange-looking bats.
Ning Bi was reading the many replies to her discussion post.
[Is this a screenshot of the game?]
[It looks like the starry sky at the beginning of the game!]
[Did you see that there's no land below the ship?! The land is the red sphere above the spiritual ship.]
"This land is a sphere?" The cultivators in the Jiuhua City Shop and the Half City Shop had never ventured out of the Deserted Sea Realm, and it was natural that they didn't know the shape of their land.
"…"
Nalan Hongwu browsed the screenshots and saw that this battleship was flying toward the nearby red sphere. When it got closer, the land looked larger until it became a vast and broad continent.
Then, he saw another reply, [They (the people in the game) always talk about stars; could it be that they live on stars?]
Nalan Hongwu was deep in thought.
[Sir, do the people in StarCraft… really live on stars? 😜] With a cup of milk tea in her hand, Ning Bi sent a message to Mr. Fang on QQ as if she had discovered a new continent, [Stars twinkle, right? How come the stars they live on don't twinkle?]
"Um…?" Mr. Fang read this message and felt as if he was looking at an elementary schoolgirl in the world where he had lived before his journey to this world. [How come you are so naïve…]
The moment that he replied to the message, another person's icon jumped.
Nalan Hongwu asked, [Sir, the people in StarCraft actually live on stars?]
Nalan Mingxue questioned, [(A screenshot of the universe) I feel like these people live on stars. But… do the stars really look like this?]
Mr. Fang was at a loss for words.
He suddenly found that Ning Bi wasn't the only naïve person; it seemed like all the people here were naïve.
They were as curious as children.
Jiang Xiaoyue suddenly asked, "Ugh? How come you're all talking about stars? And the people living on stars?"
Mu Qing replied, "It's very magical. Living on stars; won't they fall down?"
Mr. Fang's face turned dark. This is magical?
Mr. Fang said, "Did it ever occur to you…"
He rephrased his words and said, "Maybe, I mean maybe, the land we are standing on is also a star. Have you never thought about it?"
"How can it be?!" Sitting next to Mr. Fang, Jiang Xiaoyue mumbled to herself, "Boss is trying to fool us again."
Mr. Fang's words landed like a bomb and created giant waves, but soon many people expressed their disagreement.
Yue Bai said, "If we lived on a star, I would be a fairy, right? 😀"
Ning Bi added, "I wonder if they are really in the sky, but I do envy them."
Su Tianji sent a message in the group chat in QQ while eating instant noodles, [(A screenshot of the starry sky) So beautiful!]
Mu Donglai: [Indeed beautiful! More beautiful than the view that I had seen when standing on the Star-Observing Tower.]
"…"
They had never seen the view of the whole world or the sight beyond the sky, which was probably why they couldn't imagine the view of their planet from space.


We’ve had systems that help the MCs make pills, steal skills from legendary masters, and even be forced to show off to earn points, but what about a system that allows one to run a virtual reality internet cafe, featuring all the classic games?

Our MC awakens in a new world (Truck-kun strikes again) and finds himself with a mysterious system that allows him to run a fully self-sufficient virtual reality internet cafe! What? Opening an internet cafe in a cultivator world? You can now surf the internet, watch dramas, and play video games?!

One Emperor Warrior cried after visiting MC’s shop, “Damn, Blizzard completes my life!”
Another Yuan River Realm cultivator gasped after drinking Sprite, “What is this sorcery?” 

What else did the MC bring to the cultivator world? Come join us on this adventure as Fang Qi faces off against cultivation sects and major forces with his collection of modern treasures.

"He used to play Starcraft?" Zhou Yan had heard what Luocheng had said and asked.
Luocheng nodded his head. "Yeah, the Championship for the China Starcraft community had him as one of the competitors. I won in the end but he was still very strong. Now that he has come to LOL, his skills as a professional gamer can finally be shown to the world, it's just too bad that Team Beijing's teamwork is not that good yet. They could not grasp the flow of the game that easily. They were like us during last year's competition. Winning and becoming the top four team is definitely possible, but if they want to triumph over Team Daemons and Blood Eagle's Team Sky as well as Team 71, it might not be possible.
Zhou Yan nodded. "Then he must be very gifted as a professional player and also an old competitor. At that time, our country's potential for Starcraft was very low. The teams that were formed to face the Koreans were beaten black and blue, the only two who could possibly win would be the two of you, I guess."
After both teams had gone back down the stage, the next team in line was Team Dusk and Team Meteor. These two teams could be called veterans and their battle power was not something to be gawked at.
Even so, after their match was over, everyone needed to take a break, so Luocheng and his team did not stay to watch. They were planning to watch the replays and look into it later.
They were sent back to the hotel by a bus that had been specially prepared by the competition organizers. This feeling was really the best.
Once they were on the bus, Team Beijing were also onboard as they too wanted to go back to the hotel.
Everyone sat down and made some small talk. Luocheng could see that Number One was making his way toward him.
"Fighting Hawk, do you want to join the Asian Indoor games that badly?" Number One, Xie Lianda asked.
Luocheng was stunned for a second and nodded.
This Indoor Games meant a lot to Luocheng and he really wanted to participate in it.
"We know that your team is very strong and we know that you have not brought out your trump card before meeting Team Sky or Team Daemons." Lianda had a feeling that even if they had already shown their prowess, this was still not the best from Team Skycrown!
"I could give the right of participating in the Asian Indoor Games to you…" Number One said as he looked at Luocheng seriously.
"What did you say?" Luocheng was astonished.
"I know that you really want to participate in the world championships and you clearly have better skills than me. I could give this spot to you."
This sentence from Number One instantly made the two teams in the bus go dead silent.
Ping Feng was the first to react, pulling Number One over to him, "Number One, how could you give up your spot so easily!?"
Ping Feng had been shocked by Number One's words.
Number One had only become famous in LOL this year. In the past, he had set aside the competitive gaming scene.
This was not because he was not skilled, but because he had only played LOL for such a short time.
Prior to this, he had been engrossed in Starcraft and Warcraft 3. Even if he did not get an impressive prize in the competitions, he was already recognized as the player in the top 3 in both games.
LOL was currently famous in the gaming community and had taken up most of the gaming scene, but strictly speaking, from his skills and former achievements, a player like Number One was definitely a genius in competitive gaming. No one was more worthy than him to participate in the Asian Indoor Games!
Ping Feng knew that the Fighting Hawk, Luocheng, was very strong and also a God in competitive gaming. If he had not retired and still brought the flag of his country to the competitive gaming scene, he would have been undeniably chosen by the higher ups to be in the Asian Indoor Games.
But clearly, he had retired for more than two years, and in these two years, Number One had given so much effort in helping their country show off their competitive gaming skills. Who said that just because Luocheng had come back they would have to give him the spot? Even the higher ups would choose Number One over him!
"Yeah, captain, the spot was not easy to get." Pi Ka, who was the Support, suddenly stood up.
Was Number One crazy? This spot in the Asian Indoor games was immensely valuable. If a player was lucky, he could turn from a nobody into someone who was looked up to and paid attention to by the media in an instant, how could he let go of it so easily!?
Luocheng was still trying to gather his thoughts, staring at Lianda.
The Asian Indoor games. Luocheng really wanted to participate in it. He wanted to show his parents, his friends, and his loved ones, that he could do it, and to give up on the past and accept the future. 
He also wanted to do something for the gaming community and the Asian Indoor Games this time was the best chance for him as he would definitely be on media such as the sports channel and even newspapers!
After knowing who had been selected to participate, Luocheng did not have much hope for himself anymore. At the very least, people from the competitive gaming scene had finally gotten into the Asian Indoor Games. The professional gaming profession had finally come into the light and eyes of people around the world, slowly changing their perspective about video games.
The point was, Number One suddenly saying these words stunned him.
As Number One's teammate had said, it was very hard to get the spot to be in the Asian Indoor games. Those who were chosen were definitely those who were outstanding, there was no way that anyone would let this chance go!
"Do you really mean it?" Luocheng looked at Number One almost dumbfounded.
Number One nodded his head.
The members of Team Beijing all stood up, and Ping Feng was extremely agitated, "Captain, how could you give the spot to someone else! You've waited for this chance for three whole years! Even if he is strong, the things that you have done for the gaming community, the absurd amount of competitions that you have participated in, the desperation you went through while trying to find a sponsor… With the meager amount of prize money, our team could only barely stay together! The only thing that he did was get champion in something no one else could have and then leave. Who would believe in him! I don't agree!"
The Asian Indoor Games did not just include LOL, it also had other games in it. Starcraft, Warcraft 3, CS, DOTA, everyone knew that. You, Fighting Hawk, had only won the world champion in the past, but in these two years, when those Koreans, Swedish people, and Americans had put up a challenge against our country, who was there to intercept them?
Was it the Fighting Hawk?
Of course not! It had always been Number One fighting them. Even when he could not win against them, he was trying his best, training to win!
It was so hard… so hard for the sports ministry to acknowledge esports as a real sport. With Number One's two years of hard work, the sports ministry had finally given in.
What does Fighting Hawk have that even after he retired, Number One had to give him the spot?
After retiring, even if his skills in LOL were strong, was he great in Starcraft, Warcraft 3, and even CS?
The bus was suddenly quiet, Ping Feng's words were clearly directed at Luocheng.
Yes, as an old competitive player, he did harbor some hate for Luocheng.
You would never understand this feeling. Especially when enemies from the other countries were laughing and trampling over you and you could not talk back, when they had no one to rely on, they wanted to find someone and say his name, but where had this person gone? In the end, it was Number One and Lu Jian that were left holding the line!
After getting scolded by Ping Feng, Luocheng had nothing to say.
It was true that after he had left the competitive gaming scene, there was no one who could bring up the country's name like he did. The people like Number One who had fought really hard for the country earned his utmost respect. 
Luocheng did not ask about why the sports ministry had given Number One the spot. It was probably because he had put in a lot of effort, and if that was the case, he would be nothing close to them, and so he did not argue with him about it.
"Number One, if you give out your spot, I will not participate in the Warcraft 3 competition either." Ping Feng said gravely.
"Ping Feng…" Number One shook his head at Ping Feng, letting him know that there was no need to continue.
Strength was strength, Number One did indeed put in a lot of effort for the gaming community, but he clearly had never stood on top of the world before, unlike this person in front of him.
Ping Feng looked like he was about to say something else, but Number One cut him off, "Have you forgotten what the Korean player, Lee Jinhe said?"
Ping Feng grit his teeth. How could he have ever forgotten what that Korean had said? He had laughed that the strongest Starcraft player in the country could not even reach their country's professional level, going as far as to ridicule them saying that there were no real professional players in their country, only a bunch of people who wanted to win the prize money!
The Asian Indoor Competition would take place in Korea, and without a doubt, Lee Jinhe would be there.
"I can't win against him, but if you really want the words that he said to become a reality, then you can continue to be stubborn." Number One admonished Ping Feng.
"Lee Jinhe? That guy who was rather well-versed in every competitive game in Korea?" Luocheng started to get suspicious.
Number One nodded.
"Last year, our country's competitive team had to go up against the team from Korea and Lee Jinhe was able to defeat many of us at our best games on his own. It was then that he said something in Korean to his teammates that got us really mad. He thought that we could not understand Korean but Ping Feng had actually lived in Korea for a few years."
"That guy was always an *sshole. The past few years, he's always been wanting to challenge our boss." Lin Dong suddenly remembered about this person and continued, "At that time though, it seemed like he had not gained world recognition yet and did not have the qualifications to challenge our boss, right?"
"He is extremely strong now. He was the champion of the World Cyber Games two years ago." Ping Feng said.
"That strong?" Da Luo asked with a hint of disbelief.
After everyone had retired, they had bothered less with the competitive gaming scene.
"It has been a long time since I've played. Even if you let me play, I don't have the confidence that I can definitely win against my opponents." Luocheng said.
"The games are not set but LOL is definitely in there." Number One replied.
"Number One, are you absolutely sure that you want to give him your spot?" Ping Feng asked.
Luocheng was also paying close attention to Number One, he still could not believe that Number One would really let him have the spot.
Number One nodded his head., "The spot is yours."
Number One stopped for a moment purposefully, and before Luocheng could celebrate, he continued on to say, "But only if you can prove to me that you and your team are the country's best LOL team!"
"The sports ministry will definitely not turn down someone who can guide their team to become the champions to represent the country in participating in the world Esports championship. If you can become the strongest in the country, my spot will definitely be yours!"


When a national athlete of China laughs at the concept of being able to win a gold medal in video gaming, what a pro-gamer like yourself ought to do is take your size-42 shoe and measure it against his pretty face!
When parents, relatives, friends, and all the rest of society scoff at pro-gaming and say it’s not a real job… what else can you do but hold true to your passion for the competitive multiplayer scene, and resolutely turn away from their doubts!
Have you ever thought that it could actually become an official event during the Olympics, perhaps within the next four years—a game of split-second reactions and seamless teamwork between five-man squads, the ultimate test of reflexes and finesse, in an arena where players compete with all their heart and soul… 
This is e-sports!
Let the champions roar ‘Demacia!’ and rock the world to its foundations!

The wall was a door while the gem was a lock. One could only open the door by dripping blood on the gem.
Wei Huo thought that was how it worked. However, he had forgotten what happened back then when he found the cave concealing the Qi Cultivation Scrolls.
Soon after, the white light radiating from the gem transformed into a holographic projection. Surprisingly, on the holographic projection, it read 'Tetris'.
Wei Huo was left speechless. "..."
'F*ck your sister, why do I need to play a game to open a door? It used to be a puzzle game, and now it has become Tetris. So, is there going to be a Quest Evaluation system and an In-App purchase?'
"There are nine levels of difficulty in Tetris. The Player's reward after entering the cave will be decided by the difficulty level chosen. The Player is allowed to enter the cave after passing the level. Please take note that the Player only has one chance. However, the Player may try again after paying 100 Magical Stones."
He kept silent. "..."
'Indeed! God, now I know your routine!'
Wei Huo hesitated as he did not have any Magical Stones. What should he do? Should he play the game after collecting some magical stones, or play it straight away and leave the rest to fate?
It was a hard choice to make! What mattered most was that there were no coordinates in the sea. Could he still find this place after he left?
He could not have found it! Wei Huo was certain that he could not find the place unless the 'Mark The Boat to Find One's Sword' method worked. Otherwise, he could never find it again.
Wei Huo stretched out his cut finger which had already healed and tapped on the hologram menu.
"Difficulty Level Nine!"
Wei Huo took out his air pocket and took a deep breath. It was quite challenging to play such a reflex testing game while holding his breath. Moreover, he chose the difficulty level nine. However, he believed in himself.
His reflex nerves were very developed after training for more than 100 years. Besides that, his brain cells were filled with the 'Qi' energy after years of Qi Cultivation. Such an insignificant Tetris game like this…
It was difficult!
Wei Huo tapped the start game option and soon after, various kinds of Tetris blocks fell so rapidly that the afterimages almost appeared. Wei Huo instantly kept his attention focused. His fingers turned into an afterimage as well, nearly distorting the seawater.
It was Mission Impossible to play Tetris at difficulty level nine while he had to hold his breath and withstood the deep sea's water pressure. However, there were indeed people who passed level nine in Tetris. Now that Wei Huo had developed such reflex nerves, there should be no reason for him to fail.
Wei Huo did not have any extra brainpower to think about other stuff. He kept all his attention focused on the hologram menu. His fingers turned into afterimage, and his hand speed had surpassed even the world's most professional Starcraft e-athlete.
An over 100 years virgin's hand speed, do you think it's something to joke about?
Wei Huo's eyes trembled as he tapped crazily on the screen. Tetris by itself was not difficult. The difficult part was to make the correct decision under such high speed, and Wei Huo…
He closed his eyes, and his fingers stopped.
The Tetris blocks reached the top, but the next moment two words 'Game Cleared' popped up.
The game will be cleared as long as one has achieved a specific score. Although the score was limitless in Tetris, it was impossible to let Wei Huo continue playing the game for his whole life. God would not make such a blunder.
Wei Huo let out a deep sigh after he cleared the game. However the next moment, he quickly took out his air pocket and inhaled deeply. He almost suffocated.
After Wei Huo opened his eyes, he saw the 'Game Cleared' notification and the 'Do You Want To Open The Door And Enter The Cave?' option. Relief washed over him. At least he had passed the mini-game. It was very challenging to play such an arduous game under hypoxic conditions.
At that moment, the cave door gradually opened. A flood of turbid seawater gushed out of the cave door causing Wei Huo to instantly shut his eyes.
The seawater stung his eyes!
The seawater turned turbid as it had been sealed behind the cave for years and became a pool of stagnant water.
Wei Huo swam inside the cave as the turbid water diffused with the surrounding seawater. The space inside the cave was vast like the middle of a huge mountain. Wei Huo was at the top of the cave.
Wei Huo tied the rope on his body to a huge rock and gradually swam downward. Not long after, a gigantic palace came into view. The palace was built out of white jade and its corners were embedded with night pearls. The night pearl's luminous glow was illuminating the palace.
Wei Huo gradually swam towards the palace and arrived at the palace's door. Wei Huo saw an enormous stone tablet, and what greeted his eyes next were the two words 'Dragon Palace' carved on the stone tablet.
Wei Huo was stunned. There was a Dragon Palace here!
However, seconds later, he saw a tiny string of the words 'Trial Version 1.01' at the stone tablet's bottom left corner.
Wei Huo was speechless. "..."
If he combined all the words on the stone tablet, it would have read as 'Dragon Palace Trial Version 1.01'.
That Dragon Palace was just a trial version!
Game production was tough. One would need to carry out tests and improve the game continuously. However, the words on the bottom left corner of the stone tablet would probably disappear after the game had been fully developed.
Wei Huo swam inside the palace's door with not much air left in his air pocket. He had to check out the palace faster as he did not have much time left.
As he arrived at the door, he saw a string of words on the plaque of the Dragon Palace.
"The Player is a Descendant of the Fiery Emperor and the Yellow Emperor. The Player would be rewarded with a rare scroll as The Player had completed the mini-game at difficulty level nine. However, please take note that you will be put to a test before obtaining the item."
It was then that Wei Huo realized the whole 'Drip Blood to Open Door' situation was to verify his lineage.
Wei Huo saw a thin layer of the transparent film as he walked into the door. It was a barrier. He passed through the barrier smoothly and fell onto the floor. There was no seawater in the Dragon Palace!
That barrier blocked the outside seawater from entering. One could breathe freely when they entered the area. 
Wei Huo did not inhale at once. He took small breaths and realized there were no strange odors. He felt a gust of wind and started walking towards that direction. Not long after, he arrived at the main hall.
Main hall…
The main hall was obviously still under construction as there was nothing inside except for four walls and a rooftop. It was pretty empty that even the ground was made up of parched soil. It looked like a semi-finished house that was still under construction.
He kept silent. "..."
It was indeed a trial version…
Wei Huo felt like he was tricked. Where was the random scroll? There was nothing here!
Right when Wei Huo was engaged in his thoughts, a voice appeared from the center of the main hall.
"Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, you arrived here finally. You see the pillars built from gold, the ground built from crystal, and the countless dragon treasures. Unfortunately, a spell has been cast on them. You cannot take them away…"
Wei Huo was confused. "???"
Golden Pillars? Crystal Grounds? Dragon Treasures? Where are they? It was indeed a trial version!
"…The only thing you can take is this Thunder Variation Scroll. However, you would be put to a test before you can obtain it. Do you see the Thunder Pond ahead of you? Stand and be baptized in the Thunder Pond for three minutes. You will be rewarded the Thunder Variation Scroll if you survive!"
Wei Huo was speechless. "..."
So, where was the thunder pond?


Wei Huo has been ignored and overlooked by almost everyone his entire life, including God. In a bid to transform the world into a more game-like one, God halted time for all humanity except for Wei Huo, leaving him to fend for himself. The teenager has no choice but to strive for survival whilst waiting for the day humanity’s clock to start ticking again. But wait a minute! What if that wait is longer than a person’s lifespan? Follow Wei Huo on his survival journey in a world infested with mutated beasts and carnivorous plants.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
…

After what felt like an eternity, the mental pain stopped. "Huh...huh...huh...I'm alive" after a few seconds to get his bearings Sorin opened his eyes to find himself in his old apartment.

 It was small with only a small bedroom, a small bathroom and a kitchen that was half turned into his gaming studio. It wasn't very livable or very neat. Hell, it was damn dump, but it was his, so it was home after he left home to be a professional gamer. Before Astria launched, Sorin worked as a full time streamer working with the outdated equipment he bought off one of his more well off friends after he upgraded his setup for cheap.

Sorin looked around and felt a wave of nostalgia. This is when life was simple and enjoyable. He had a fan base, while small, followed all of his streams. The streaming didn't pay well, but he recognized the returning users who supported him. 

He looked around to find his smart phone to see which cruel motherfucker would kidnap him and put him here. Looking around made the world have a little bit of color, yet it's the good times that hurt the worst as it just makes him remember how dull and lifeless his current life is.

After looking all over the room he could not find his smart phone but found a brick of a phone charging on a foldable table he would use to call his parents. Once he turned it on he found the calendar said Oct. 31, 2025.

'That can't be right. I know it's 2033, it must have been dead for ages' Sorin questioned, 'In fact, I sold this apartment, but the old equipment and studio pieces I sold in pieces when I upgraded to a VR capsule.' After looking for some of the unique parts that he remembered chipping or scratching he became even more confused.

'Hold on' He marched to the bathroom to check his face and was utterly shocked. He looked like he did when he just left high school to make money streaming full time. He had a stupid mop of black hair with a green highlight down the right side. I looked ridiculous because his hair was unnecessarily curly so it looked like a intimidating black mushroom with a mold spot on it.

"Back in time cliche? Does that mean that bright light was death? Is this a second life?  When is this?" he muttered. He knew this because he cut the hair when he became more popular in Astria and he never grew it out again.

Not trusting that antique of a phone, he booted up his 5 year old rig and checked the digital time.

'So it is Oct. 31, 2025. Well that is close to two months till Astria launches, but is that what I want to do now that I have a second chance?' If he could succeed once he could definitely do it again with all the knowledge on game events, item locations, raid strategies, etc. He could be the top of the gaming world...again. 'It all seems so pointless, obtaining fame and money seems so easy. I could quit and do something else but all I ever succeed at was gaming and it is all I know how to do.'

'Wait, I somehow traveled back in time and maybe even died which means I have no responsibilities except bills. No contracts, no setting an example for the guild, no having to meet a quota, no guild wars, no power leveling. I don't have to be the best in the world. I don't even have to play the game every day for 12-14 hours a day. I can do what fascinated me about the game in the first place, the game, the world, Astria. That's it. Fuck the leader boards; let someone else have the top spot. Fuck the guilds; who needs a commitment like that anyway. Fuck the sponsors, I will just live off stream revenue when Astria becomes popular.' thought Sorin excitedly.

After some mental and emotional gymnastics, Sorin finally had a goal. 

'Ok i am 18 years old, living on a few hundred dollars in the bank from stream revenue, and no girlfriend. In order to make it for the pre-order exclusive sale I need to make 3 grand while paying for bills. It seems I am overdue on my rent for this month so I need to fix that. Ok what was I playing' scrolling through his game library 'I see I was playing mostly Black Ops 8, Elder Scrolls 6, and Starcraft 3. With the reflexes I cultivated over the past 8 years I should have a distinct advantage over these kids and should focus on Black Ops 8. I will send clips of incredible gun play to other, more popular channels to get featured and strategy guides on how to improve reaction times.'

'That should bring in cash flow and popularity to my channel for a while. It is a shame I need to give the channel up. As it stands, the channel is publicly attached to my email address, so when I make a stir in Astria I cannot have those silk pants threatening me in real life to sell the account to them.'

'It sucks, but I am going to need to start over.' Sorin sighed. It took blood, sweat, and tears to build up that channel. He made a lot of friends those streams.' smiled Sorin then quickly turning into a grimace, 'That is until money is involved.' 

After the game became a world phenomenon, people began to sell their accounts for real world cash. Some of his longest supporters and best of friends he made over the stream sold their items he world give them for cash and leaked game secrets for fame for themselves. After all was said and done, none of his original 'friends' remained in the guild he made.

'Whatever, it's in the past', he said as he cracked his fingers, booting up Black Ops 8, 'lets see what this piece of junk can do.'

Sorin Makarov was the undisputed best player in the revolutionary VRMMORPG Astria as well as its number 1 guild-master. He crawled through the leader boards, made friends with unsavory people, started wars and created mountains of virtual corpses to be where he is. 

And he is successful. He has political power, money, women, and all of the other joys of life.

But he has a problem, he's unhappy. Sorin sees the world in a grey monotone that only playing Astria fixes. 

After giving his corporate sponsors the finger to escape the confines of the guild, his building is struck by lightning, throwing him back in time before the game launched.

"Worlds number 1 player and guild? Let someone else have it. I just want to enjoy Astria my way."

...
Currently I am drafting up how this novel will shape so I will constantly update older chapters.
A few things though. No harem 'planned'. The whole novel will focus more on the single player part of Astria and have little to do with player and even less irl conflicts. 
Grammar and plot hole feedback appreciated.
No update schedule yet.
This is purely for my enjoyment and I thought I would share with others. Enjoy

After he settled everything, Lin Sheng walked out of the rented yard.
There was a simple sign hanging outside, which read "Steel Fist Fight Club".
There were signs of incomplete work around the area, and certain parts were not even painted yet.
"They really just cobbled a place up…" Lin Sheng was speechless.
No wonder they were so quick in setting it up.
He did not pay it any more attention and simply walked down the street that the fight club was on, sweeping his gaze left and right.
There was an Internet café on the right-hand side, and the shop's sign read "New Era Internet Café".
There were a few fifteen to sixteen-year-old kids squatting by the door, smoking and b*llshiting as they proceeded into the building.
"I haven't gone online for a while now, let's go have a look."
He walked passed the two smoking youths and pushed the transparent glass door open.
Inside were two neat rows of slightly dirty computers.
On the right-hand side of the café was a counter, and a young lady, no more than twenty was manning it. She was eating a cup of instant noodles while watching some soap opera.
There was a sign on the countertop.
 "¥1.50 per hour. For members, top-up ¥100, get an extra ¥50."
"I'd like a unit for three hours."
Lin Sheng looked at the clock on the wall, and since he was already out, he gave an excuse and told his parents that he was out with friends. So, he had the whole afternoon to himself.
It was only a little over three o'clock now, and dinner time would arrive in three hours; it was perfect.
The counter girl looked up at him.
"I need your ID. Do you remember it? If you don't, you need to use a temporary card, and the rates will be higher."
Lin Sheng quickly gave her his ID number and paid for the usage.
He then bought a bottle of mineral water from the counter and took it to his assigned PC.
As he hit the start button, he waited for the blue CPU loading screen and the NWE operating system to load.
NWE was an operating system similar to this world's Windows and was developed overseas. It was, however, widely pirated in Xilin.
As Lin Sheng sat down, he distanced himself from the monitor and held the mouse, clicking away at an icon on the screen.
It was an animated icon with a bluish-white starship.
That was the icon of Xilin's most popular real-time strategy game, Star Path, a game similar to Starcraft.
Its controls were more akin to Red Alert's, though.
It was Lin Sheng's favorite game, thus he had joined an online clan as well. He quickly logged in, and his user ID read "7FootGiant".
Once the super-futuristic sci-fi loading screen appeared, a notification sound started to pop out from the "friends" panel on the lower right screen.
DuskStar: "You there?"
DuskStar: "Let's play!"
DuskStar: "Anyone home?"
DuskStar: "Not online again?"
Skyfall Leaf: "7Foot, you there?"
RoyalHatred: "Bloody hell, I lost again. 7Foot, if you don't come online, our clan's gonna get wrecked!"
DuskStar: "Those Bronzeforge guys are just too much. 7Foot, let me know when you come online. We're just short of you!"
DuskStar: "Why aren't you on yet?"
Lin Sheng looked at the timestamp. It was two days ago.
Since his skills were decent, he was one of the core players in his clan.
Sadly, ever since the nightmare came to him, he had to focus on the dream realm, and he had not played for a long time.
Even if he visited an Internet café, it was mostly to check on information related to the dream or swordsmanship.
*Beep beep!*
A sudden notification prompt rang.
DuskStar: "You're finally on. Let's wreck some scrubs!"
Lin Sheng was surprised. That person was the most active player in their online group, almost fanatical. In fact, once he started, he could play from dawn to dusk.
"Alright, let's team-up," Lin Sheng replied.
"Okay."
The two quickly formed a team and started to hail for the rest, but none were online.
Soon, the game started. Their opponent was selected at random.
Even though Lin Sheng had not played for a while now, the game relied more on APM and strategic or tactical skills, which was similar to fighting games.
Therefore, his skills had not regressed much, and they started their winning streak.
They easily defeated the first pair of foes, not taking more than twenty minutes.
The second and third rounds followed...
And after about an hour, Lin Sheng was bored. He then set up the "Away" sign.
DuskStar: "What's wrong? Aren't you on holiday today?"
7FootGiant: "I have something to do, stopping now."
DuskStar: "What's so important? Let's play!"
7FootGiant: "I really have something to do, and I'm pretty busy at home too, so I don't have much time to play."
DuskStar: "Even Crown isn't as busy as you. Aren't you a student? What are you busy with?"
7FootGiant: "I have something to settle."
DuskStar: "Oh yeah, Crown said he's passing by Huaisha soon, how about we arrange a meetup for the players here. I'll book the whole place!"
Lin Sheng smiled at the screen.
He had mentioned in the group that he was a poor student without a lot of pocket money, hence why he was not online much. Meanwhile, DuskStar seemed to be at least well to do with no need to care for internet charges.
Now that he talked about booking the whole place, it was clear that he was not short of money.
Lin Sheng smiled as he responded.
"Anything. Let's see what everyone says."
DuskStar started to grumble again, and the two played another round before Lin Sheng went offline.
After he quit the game, he clicked on the search engine and entered Huaisha City's local forum to check if there were any new posts.
Very quickly, a post that went up two hours ago appeared in his line of sight.
"A robbery-cum-murder case in Blackwater District, south of the city... It's live!"
Lin Sheng squinted and quickly clicked on it.
The post was made by someone called Windtalker, and the original post had a picture of the crime scene.
It looked like a room on an incomplete construction site.
And the floor was covered in blood while the wall was scrawled with "Do you love me?"
Lin Sheng narrowed his eyes, and he quickly looked at the posts that followed.
"It's that godforsaken place again. A few cases have already spawned from that sh*thole, yet there are still people who refuse to listen, and daringly go over to play! Fools!"
"It was a guy the last time. He was killed after he was robbed as well. It's just so gruesome."
"Not only that, a pair of lovers had also disappeared over there. A room full of blood was all that was left."
"Have the police gone over already?"
"Many times, but it's useless. The killer left nothing behind."
Lin Sheng quietly read through the postings and demurred.
Huaisha was not a big city, but it was also not small. He had actually heard of many such unsolved cases already.
The police had been trying to investigate, but they always came to a dead end. At most, they would pick a random fool and pin the crime on him to close the case.
However, anyone with half a brain could tell that they were just obfuscating the public.
He had not paid any attention to it before and treated it as a gossip topic over tea. Now that he thought of it, something was not right.
There were just too many cases in which the police could not do anything.
He then went on to check other posts and found that there was another sealed room murder case that was unresolved.
After he closed the forum site, he proceeded to look at the current news: Xilin and Redwin were still at each other's throats.
They continued to trade verbal barbs as they deployed their troops at the border. It seemed like war could break out at any time.
In reality, however, this situation had already lasted over a year. At first, everyone was rather anxious, but as time passed, they got used to it.


This is a story of an ordinary boy gaining unusual powers from his nightmares... It all started when Lin Sheng experienced something strange on what he thought was just another normal day. He begins to have recurring dreams that lead him on an incredible journey of discovery as he encounters spine-chilling monsters and elusive secrets.

"Another day another boring life... I mean I tried hard to do well but I always seem to screw up. My girlfriend dumped me, parents hate me, and now my so-called friends don't talk to me anymore. Way to go Jason you doing so well in life I totally have my million dollar car and my house... why the hell am I even talking to myself."
'At least I get to play my games... a new update came out for some of my games I play but man a wish a new content update came out for starcraft 2. I fucking love that game when I get some free time I'm gonna restart my Zerg campaign. Oh, yea there's that new Star Wars movie as well wonder what would happen if the Zerg was in Star Wars. Huh maybe someone would make a mod or something anyway need to get to work.' 

For the past 4 years Jason has been in a loop, work, home, play game for two hours, and sleep he was glad he moved out he always fought with his parents about little thing but the day he turned 18 he left and found a small apartment is was cheap for its size but he really didn't care. Then came along Rebecca she was 19 very beautiful and loved to shop for things with other people's money we all know how this relationship ended. She stayed with him and spent his money then Jason asked her to not buy so much so he could buy themselves a bigger place to live sounds good and all right? Nope, she left three days later took everything she owned and left a note says things didn't work between us. Then what about his so-called friends? Oh, they just asked him out say they part or go out to drink he often had to drive them home and sometimes pay their tab when they "forgot" their wallet. But the moment he got busy with working they acted like they never knew him! Well, you must be thinking well at least he has a job he surely must enjoy his work? Yea no it's just a plain old office job. File the paperwork do some computer stuff for 10 hours a day but he's been doing well trying to earn a promotion then the day he thought finally came.

"Hey, Jason come to my office for a moment."
"Yes, sir I'll be there right away Mr. Anderson."
Meet Andrew Anderson he is the boss of Jason but well you see Andrew is kinda an ass to Jason and he doesn't even know why
"Alright Jason takes a seat and we will discuss why I asked to here."
"Yes sir," Jason said as he took a seat 
"Now you should already know the company been taking a hit lately and we don't really have the budget to pay some workers now some people will be let go..."
"You're firing me? Sir I've been here for 5 years starting as an intern and getting to where I am now. Shouldn't you fire the new intern's?"
"Sorry, Jason I'm just doing my job. It came from the top so I can't do anything about it."
"So you didn't even bother giving me a notice?" 'God, are you fucking with me?'
"Sorry I can't do anything your check will be sent to you tomorrow now I have to ask you to please gather your things and leave the building."
"Un fucking believable," he said after he walked out to grab his stuff from his desk
He was wondering what to do now where he could find a new job and soon since he needed to pay rent soon. When he got home to walk to the couch and sat down and suddenly yelled 
"GODDAMIT! What did I do to deserve this..."
Jason was pissed off so he went to his computer to look up possible jobs around him and didn't find anything making him even angrier so he decided to just take a break 
"I always enjoyed the Starcraft forums reading about what people thought of the game and just General discussions so I'll just read some of those to hopefully calm down."
Jason was looking at threads such as the best way to finish such mission or help my game is bugged and then he noticed something that was interesting.
<Hey guys what do you think about the Zerg somehow being in Star Wars?>
'I literally just thought about that this morning... it was post less than a minute ago! Let's see... Well Mr. Godly being, that's an interesting username.' As Jason thought to himself he began to respond saying.

ZergMaster_247: I had the same thought and I think it a really cool idea! Let's say an Overmind ended up in the clone wars era so many things could happen! He could just die if he ended up on Coruscant but what if he appeared in the outer rem? What if the Jedi or sith couldn't tell he even existed? What would happen if he built up the swarm to the point the clone wars looked like a joke compared to him? 
"I kinda hope he responds because things could be interesting... oh he responds so fast!"

Godly_Being: Noted and even I think that would be super interesting... let's say this Overmind was actually a human in control of the swarm without any drawback with all the ideas except hmmm I don't know... Yoda sensing something bad in the force and the same for Sidious?

"Hmm, yea I honestly think that be pretty interesting maybe I should just friend him because I like his thinking."

ZergMaster_247: Yea but he would probably need some kind of system to help keep track of everything. In the game, the population limit is 200 but in real life, the Overmind could basically control an unlimited amount Zerg so how would he keep track of everything? Also, the problem with the resources could ruin it. Where could he find Khaydarin crystals in the Star Wars universe? (Sent friend request)

"Let's see what he thinks about this."

Godly_Being: Noted and what if he could use something like BioEnergy like things he kills gives him Energy for the Zerg. He could also use other minerals. Also, there is Creep it could gather sunlight that could be used as Energy for the swarm and I'll accept your friend request :)

"Hmm that concept could work the same with the creep haha this person is awesome but he keeps saying noted. Maybe he is writing a book or something well if he is I'll definitely read it."

ZergMaster_247: Both seem like great ideas but as a human don't you think it would be lonely if he is only around Zerg creatures? What if the queens where human...ish so he could talk to someone because everything will just try and kill him probably. Lol, I wish I could be that human because it would be so interesting! It's not like I have any reason to stay here I'm single sadly :( but it sounds like your making a novel or something. Are you?

"I really wish I was the Overmind... there is nothing for me here..."

Godly_Being: Noted and let's say I had magical powers that could make all that come true? What would you do? Would you want to go for real or would you rather stay at home? Yes in a way it could be a novel just something to keep me entertained and I don't really care how the story would end up.

"Would I stay here?!? Oh god no I hate this place. My life is running downhill, I'm jobless, parents hate me, Girlfriend left me because I wanted to save money. HA, this place can kiss my ass I would go there in a heartbeat."

"Noted. Enjoy your new life Overmind of the Zerg swarm I'll be watching so put on a fun show my new friend."

"What the fu..." Jason was about to say but suddenly blacked out if you were to look at Jason now you would see that a lightning bolt came out of his computer and struck him right in the forehead pretty much melting his brain 
Jason felt like he was In a void everything was black he knew he was here yet also felt nowhere then an interface came up showing 

[Overmind: Jason
Personal BioEnergy 0/1,000
Zerg Swarm BioEnergy 0/10,000
Alignment: N/A
Building's: N/A
Zerg Creatures: N/A
Stage: 0 (Next unlock at "birth") ]

After the finished reading what was on the interface a count down start.

[ 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Choosing a random world... Unknown jungle planet chosen... Randomly Choosing Alignment... Dark side chosen as Dark side can cloud your mind side effects are removed. (Can use dark side powers without going insane) Enjoy your new life -Godly Being ]

Jason felt sleepy and ended up falling asleep. Jason didn't just simply appear on the planet he crash-landed there for some reason so the people on natives just thought it was minerals from as astroid 
"Alright, people an asteroid landed nearby so they want us to gather what could be on it and sell it."
"How much will they give us? the clan elders sell most of it to the Jedi so there's so little for us boss...
"Yea boss why do we even sell them to the Jedi what do they need it for we could probably use it."
"Jackson and Boros you do realize that if we don't give a reason for the republic to want to keep our backwater planet the CIS will just take it and either kill us all or make us slaves so we just mine and sell it to them till the war is over and we can stop."
The mining team of a clan known as Frone left to the wild with an armed escort toward the crater that was left 
"What happened? Hello? Oh that's right I remember seeing that screen... how do I bring that up? Hmmm, stats? No, guess not... Status no that's not it... HUD?"

[Overmind: Jason
Personal BioEnergy 0/1,000
Zerg Swarm BioEnergy 500/10,000
Alignment: Dark side
Building's: N/A
Zerg Creatures: N/A
Stage: 1 (Next unlock at 10,000 Bioenergy spent)(Unlocked: Hatchery: larva, Queen's, overlords, Zerglings, spawning pool)]

"Wait I actually have the force as well? I need something to use it on..." Jason looked around and close to him is a big rock and he thought I'll just lift it but as he has never trained in the force before he has no clue what he is doing
"Well, this is harder than I thought... I'll worry about it later I'll need to make a lightsaber as well... Good thing I know how to make one I'll need to decide which kind I'll want I'll pick later but I need to start the Zerg swarm but how do I place a hatchery?" 
This problem confused Jason on what to do next how do I make one? After tripe and error, he figured it out.
"So I just imagine whichever building or zerg and as long as I have enough Bio-Energy I can make one but the time it takes is more realistic so I have to wait for the building to complete... Well, this place seems like a good place so I'll start my hive here."

[Bio Energy cost for "1" hatchery is 300. Confirm?]
"Hell yea! Just have to wait for 10 hours now... I'll just keep practicing till it's done."
Jason was trying to use the force when he felt a feeling. it was like someone was entering his territory but he didn't understand it but it was enough to make him on guard.

"Boss how much longer till we get there? I hate coming into the jungle..."
"We will leave once we mine that astroid that crashed around here then sell it."

Jason heard them and noticed that there were 7 of them. 3 seemed to be miners and 4 looks to be guards. now that he knew why they came here he noticed what's left of the asteroid. There was a large chunk of platinum-colored stone that oddly resembled a chest but when he looks at it he feels endless darkness, anger, feat like it's calling him wanting war, blood, carnage but Jason didn't care he walked over as something just felt right telling him to stretch his hand out as he did the chest as stone floated to him and just like a chest it open to let out a pitch black with red aura like gas that jumped at Jason and was absorbed is where looking at his eyes your would notice his eyes that where once blue slowly turn a yellow-orange color of the sith but it didn't stop there as it was getting dark then slowly turned into a bright blood red but he felt fine but now he felt like he has understood the force for over 5000 years 

Meanwhile on Coruscant 
Yoda was in Council with the Jedi when suddenly Yoda hunched over and fell to the floor causing everyone to took at Yoda in worrying.
"Grandmaster Yoda what's wrong?! I felt something in the force but it suddenly vanished but I think you felt all of it what happened?" 
"Suddenly become overwhelming the dark side has. Like chaos may descend soon like the galaxy has never seen I feel. Yes, hrrrm."
"Could Count Dooku have something to do with this?" Said, master Kenobi
"Hmmm. Not Dooku but something new something more powerful then ever it feels like."
"We need to prepare for this master Yoda but with the war with the CIS this is making things difficult..." said another Council member.

Meanwhile, in Chancellor Palpatine's office, He was finishing looking over data reports when he noticed the dark side felt overwhelming even for him.
"What power! But this shouldn't be right... It feels like an extremely powerful Sith has turned up but will that cause problems for me? Who knows maybe I'll even get a new apprentice"

[Hey guys Hope you enjoy this chapter did you know it's hard to talk like Yoda? Do you guys think whenever Yoda talks I can talk normally? Bye everyone]

(Note: This is a Chinese translate novel)

When Lu Mingfei was applying for a foreign university, he received an invitation letter from Cassel College, a private university in the outer suburbs of Chicago. Under the call of mystery, under the choice of love and dream, he resolutely chose the unknown future. Black helicopters flew across the sky, the gate of a strange country was slowly opened to him: The door of becoming a dragon slayer.

Another name for this novel is:
Dragon's Raja

Winter settled in outside, but Danika didn't mind because her home was warm, and she was busy. 

Endless Song's entertainment venue was finally paying for everything that they had put into it and more, and the credit for that could be laid at Hikaru's feet. The person, not the firefly.

Ryuske had coaxed his partner into making a character so that they could perform together, and Hikaru had come out of the beginner's vale to meet them looking very much as she did in real life. She had gazed at Ryullusion with an incredulous expression, and circled him in much the same fashion that the firefly of the same name would have, before exclaiming, "Ryu! You look so young! I've never seen you look so young! You look like you did in Edge's posters!? No, you look even prettier than that! But it's still you…" And then she had started to cry.

Ryullusion had replied anxiously, "You could have altered your appearance too!"

Hikaru had hit him and cried, "You idiot! I did! Can't you see that I'm five kilos lighter? I'm crying because I thought you would never wear your hair long again!"

Danika hadn't understood, but Ryuske obviously had, as he hugged her and told her gently, "Yeah. I know. But it's okay isn't it?"

"It's so okay," Hikaru had insisted. "So very okay! You idiot!"

Her words had made Ryullusion laugh, and afterward she had asked, "But don't you need a performing account like you said the kids had, if we're going to play on stage as Mirage?"

--

Because of that, Ryuske had been inspired to work together with Quicksilver's player outside of the game, and convince Starcraft Technologies marketing department to open up an option for professional avatar accounts for any registered and licensed performers willing to pay for them, in both 'Living Jade Empire' and their future VR games.

When Danika heard about their plan, she convinced the Jade Emperor and Logical Heart (or rather, Josh Beagle, since it took actual changes to the game), to tackle the idea that she'd had of creating permanent concert ticket types that weren't limited to Endless Song's venue. Ordinary ones that would let you into a predefined zone, like the one that had been created for Underneath, and a special concert ticket type that would shift you into a spirit form that had access to the performing space within the zone.

Logical Heart even improved it, by giving the spirits the option of making themselves visible to everyone as motes of light. That way the performers could interact with them a little if they wanted to, or easily ignore them if they didn't, and the rest of the audience members could see that other people were willing to pay for the privilege. He also set it up to let the zone creator choose whether the tickets sold in the shop for real money or in the game for coin, and both the game and the performers got a cut, but the zones themselves weren't cheap.

Mirage started holding monthly concerts within 'Living Jade Empire', like the Sugar Wings and Tundo's string quartet had been. The virtual performances were much easier on them than real lives were anymore, and they always brought in a large crowd of older people. 

Danika thought that it was strange that more people seemed willing to create a game account to view them than to create an account for a dedicated virtual concert, but Ryuske told her, "I think this is more like visiting a distant city to see a concert, there are lots of other people and interesting things here already."

The Sugar Wings kept their fairy wings, but matched the rest of their performing avatars to their real performance appearances, and Penname complained about being out of a job. For about five minutes. Until Thimblepot asked with interest, "Don't you think that more pirates would like your designs? Sea Song Tione tells me that there are more than a hundred thousand pirates, and that walrus' tamer pirate that Shrubbery knows really liked them!"

Other groups of older professionals and younger aspiring artists noticed their rise in popularity, and started creating professional accounts for themselves too. Of course, not all of them booked themselves with Endless Song. But as the game's founding venue, their dome, (and Tianxia, the city of sand), got a lot of traffic.

--

Underneath had a Valentine's Day concert this year as well, but Shinichi had set aside the rest of his time to play with Danika during the 'Week of Hearts' within 'Living Jade Empire'. He had thought about keeping it a secret from her, but had been afraid that she would decide to work instead, even though Saturday was one of the two days of the event.

She really didn't like how things were going on the children's game they were creating as the last demo. They had been instructed to make it comply with current international regulations for those, which meant that it had to meet a lot of conflicting restrictions while still proving educational. 

Her latest message complained, "It's so ridiculous! For example: no sexual act of any kind can be portrayed, but realistic animals must portray realistic behavior. I don't think there's a farming game in the world that can meet both requirements at the same time! I think 'Living Jade Empire' filters things pretty well based on the character's age and settings, but it doesn't comply with this mess either."

He logged in and teleported to ZipZing, who was watering her apple tree within her stone space. He grabbed one of the healing berries from a bush to heal ShinZing before turning to her and suggesting, "A world of plushies that go around solving math problems?"

She sighed as she set her aqua stone back on the stone cup that fed the small pond she'd added on one side of the little garden space. "It's actually already been suggested," she replied wearily.

She used her druidic belt and skill to shift into her pixie form and hugged him, even though he was playing from his phone. He regretted that he couldn't properly return her hug, even as he tapped the custom emote he'd built for kissing her on the nose. Even after being together for over a year, she still blushed when he did that. She was so cute.

"I'm really glad you have a couple of days off," he told her seriously.

"Should I have flown out to stay with you?" she asked worriedly.

"Nope. All five of us are crammed into one suite here. And the funny thing is, when we tried to change it they said that they are full, because of our concert!" he explained laughingly. "Besides we'll have three days together when we go to your dad's wedding, and then we'll get two whole weeks alone when we finally take our trip," he assured her quickly.

"You realize that we'll be lucky to get five minutes alone together since we agreed to stay with my grandparents," Danika warned him.

"You just won't let me keep any secrets will you," Shinichi complained with amusement.

"What?" she asked with a cutely confused expression on her character's face.

"I'm coming home Monday and I'll be there until Thursday," he told her wryly. Her happy smile as she hugged him again made giving up the surprise worth it. "Want to go win some candy?" he suggested. "MatchlessMinion sent me a link to the map of currently known event quests."

"Guess who talked him into teaming up to do the quests with her?" Danika demanded laughingly.

Shinichi hesitated. He knew that Shrubbery had made plans in advance to do the Week of Hearts with Ryullusion, because his adoptive parent had included that in his message a few days ago, and he didn't think that she would have cancelled on him. The two person teams didn't have to have couples in them, but he couldn't think of anyone else that Danika might sound so excited about.

ZipZing's wings sparkled brightly as she announced without waiting for him to guess, "Penname!"

"Oh," Shinichi replied with relief. "That makes sense."

"That makes sense?" Danika repeated doubtfully. "You're not surprised?"

"Don't those two both really enjoy the same kinds of quests?" he asked. "She's not even that much younger than he is, they have less of an age difference than we do."

ZipZing's utterly shocked expression made him laugh, and he teased, "Don't tell me that my little matchmaker never thought of pairing up those two?"

Her wings went pink as she protested, "I don't matchmake people! And I was really surprised!"

After a great deal of preparation, Danika begins her new digital dragon's life in a very small way.

They say the "Living Jade Empire" creates individualized quests. They say it can read your mind. They say you can find your heart's desire. They say that there's never been a game like it, and they're right but… they're also wrong.

The game is a data mine, built to retell the old tales that humans have been telling each other since language was invented. It doesn't read your mind, but it reads your search history, your favorites, and your blogs. The "Living Jade Empire" is literally crafted from fables, legends, fantasies, and maybe just a bit of stardust.

But in the end, will the game be able to figure out what Danika wants most? Will the desires of other players take priority? Or, will playing it change her, until she desires what it can give her?

A journey is always made up of many small steps, and this game has still only just begun.

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