Chapter 01

In the dead night. At Newtown upper-class area, Pune City. Vikram Singh held some documents as he sat silently on the sofa. Looking at the pool outside from the window, Vikram was filled with frustration.

He was the captain of [Shadow], one of Pune City's top four gaming Workshops. He had commanded a guild of thousands of people. Even more, he was Pune City's famous expert; he was one and only Sword Magician. However, now the only thing he could do was drink away his misery inside his home.

Ten years, he had spent completely in gaming.

Ten years, he had fought in massive battles.

Despite enduring numerous hardships and challenges, he managed to lead Shadow to the establishment of ten City States within <<God's Realm Online>>. This achievement positioned them to compete with the top-tier Guilds. Sadly, his dreams of basking in eternal glory were shattered by a single document, leaving nothing but fleeting memories.

Vikram no way thought his complete ten years of endeavors would just go to waste. He offered so much just for the game and yet, all he did was pave the way for others to the very end. All of this happened because he'd opposed the decision for Shadow to join the Super-Guild, 'World Dominators'. It was not indeed the coming day before Skytell Financial Group gave him their reply. He had to delete his level 200 account, the account he'd spent ten times of blood and sweat on, and to collect his agreement check from the department.

All he received was 1,000,000 Rupees and a single house. When compared to the earnings generating from his virtual kingdom, it could not even be considered a drop in the ocean.

Vikram thought about how much he had contributed to Shadow. He thought about how his efforts had turned Skytell Groups into a large financial group. Then, he thought about how they still threw him away, as if he was no different from garbage; Vikram swore he would take revenge for their actions.

"I won't just let this go. At worst, I'll just start over."

Vikram's eyes flashed with confidence and resolution; his hands tore the termination contract into little pieces. Grabbing the bottle of bear from the tabletop, he gulped down several mouthfuls.

Even if he no longer had his main account, even if he no longer had his team's support, the skills and knowledge he obtained from the game would not betray him. As long as his skills remained, he could still rise once more within God's Realm Online; he could rebuild a kingdom of his own.

Early morning. The sun had just risen.

Dii! Dii! Dii!

The phone alarm continuously rang.

Vikram woke up resentfully. He helplessly reached for his phone by the bedside; the effects from yesterday's drinking still loomed over him.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Brother Vikram, it's me, Sahu. You're still asking what's up? Didn't we agree to become professional gamers?  Shadow Workshop is recruiting at our school today. Haven't you always wanted to become Shadow's core member?"

Vikram was slightly confused.

Skytell Financial Group just fired him, so why would he attend Shadow's examination?

"Vikram? Vikram ? Can you hear me? They're testing at ten o'clock. If you don't hurry up, you're not gonna make it!"

"Sahu, stop joking around; I just got fired from Shadow."

"Fired? Vikram, how much did you drink yesterday? Even now, you're still not awake? How could you be fired if Shadow hasn't even recruited anybody until now? Alright, just come quickly."

Sahil had cut the call before Vikram could respond.

When Vikram looked at his phone in a daze, he discovered that this old and broken down iPhone 20 was not his phone. His phone was the latest iPhone 30.

Immediately, Vikram inspected his surroundings.

What met his eyes was a messy room, no larger than fifteen square meters. All around, there were books on gaming strategies. At a corner of the room, above the study table, there was an extremely outdated laptop. Within the wardrobe by the wall, there were clothes messily piled together. Inside the wardrobe, there was a mirror; a mirror that currently showed a familiar face.

Vikram  jumped up in shock when he saw this extremely familiar face.

"How have I become young again?" Vikram immediately walked towards the mirror. Only after looking at the mirror, at the reflection shown on it, over and over, did Vikram confirm that he had indeed become young again.

He slept in his luxurious and spacious bedroom yesterday but now he was in this broken down place after waking up. Not only that, he also had become young again.

Vikram could still recall some memories regarding this place. He had lived here ten years ago. For over six months, Vikram rented this place in reluctance, all so that he could play God's Realm Online while also attending university. Only after he had earned some money in God's Realm Online had he rented a large condominium.

Vikram thought back to those arduous years. His family circumstances at that time weren't in good shape. For Vikram to attend university, his parents had racked up some debts. Even so, Vikram's parents still made sure to send him sufficient living expenses every month, taking on the suffering, themselves, in return.

Vikram. wholeheartedly wanted to change his family circumstances. However, finding a well-paying job while the streets were filled with university graduates was tremendously hard; so he thought of the highly profitable Virtual Reality games. Setting professional gamer as his goal, he even bought a Virtual Gaming Helmet, training arduously within the game to improve his skills.

During that time, bread and instant noodles became his daily meals. To save money, he had also avoided participating in social gatherings held by his classmates, causing him to become an invisible existence in his class. The boys would look at him with disdain, while the girls would distance themselves from him. Everytime Vikram went shopping for cup noodles, his wallet would have no more than 10 Rupees. He did not even dare buy a Sandwich that only cost a single Rupee. In pity, the female salesperson there had offered him the Sandwich at a discounted price. However, the feeling of his empty wallet made  refuse with great reluctance.

"Is someone playing a prank on me?"

Vikram stared at his younger self through the mirror and at the familiar surroundings. Vikram. couldn't help but shake his head, denying such a conclusion.

Even America, as the world's most developed country, didn't have such rejuvenating technology. Besides, who would play such a joke with a poor old uncle like him?

Vikram. looked at the time on his phone.

19th-April-2129.

"Don't tell me I have been reincarnated?" Vikram's face revealed a bitter smile.

He remembered today was the 5th of August, in the year 2139. It couldn't possibly be April of 2129, the year he was still attending university.

Vikram shook his head, trying to wake himself up. Yet, deep down, he still held onto a thread of hope, wishing that he could be reincarnated, returning to the time ten years ago. He walked towards the desk, powering up the laptop.

Even if the time on his phone could be faked, the information on the internet definitely couldn't.

After surfing the web for several minutes...

Vikram was utterly devastated. All the information he found on the internet showed that today was 19th of April, 2129. Even the highly anticipated official release date of God's Realm Online was clearly displayed on its official site, counting down to six days from now, the 25th of April.

"I really have been reincarnated! Did I really come back to ten years ago?" Vikram firmly stared at the news report of God's Realm Online, emotional tears leaking from the corners of his eyes.

Vikram's feelings were hard to describe at that moment. He felt both regret, sadness, and joy.

It was as if everything before him was just a dream.

Nonetheless, the chirping of insects and the cold wind blown from the air conditioner told him otherwise, that everything was rereal.

Looking at his phone, at the family photo he took when he entered university, Vikram never realized that his parents had white hair. The corners of his mother's eyes even had wrinkles. They were no longer as lively as before; they were truly old now.

A year and a half had already passed since God's Realm Online's release when Vikram noticed how aged his parents were. The large amounts of debt, excessive laboring, and stress had caused both his parents to fall ill, gravely ill. Curing them required millions of Rupees but, during that time, Vikram was merely a squad captain in Shadow. The money he earned was far from enough to foot such expensive costs.

Vikram tried everything to collect enough money, yet it was still not enough. Even with trying his all, Vikram's parents still left him a few months later.

In his previous life, he failed to care for his parents properly. How could he have known of the pain and suffering?

After Vikram earned millions of Rupees, this pain remained within Vikram's heart for forever more.

Never would he have thought fate would play such a joke on him. He unexpectedly returned to the starting point, starting back up from zero.

"Great! This is just too great! Hahaha! Since I have been reincarnated, I have to change everything. I will earn enough money to cure mom and dad and I will let them live a life without worries." Vikram silently swore to himself as he wiped away the tears.

Just when Vikram was planning for his future, Sahu's call came ringing again, continuously urging Vikram to go quickly to the university for the test.

Yet, Vikram did not rush. He dressed at a relaxed pace, tidying himself up before heading to Pune University.

He could not be more familiar with Shadow.

Vikram still remembered. It was while he was still attending university, Skytell Group's prized son, Vaibhav Patil, started up Shadow Workshop to enter God's Realm Online . Vaibhav also invested considerable funding into the recruitment of the student experts of Pune University. Vikram participated in Shadow's examination at the time, successfully becoming a core member of the Workshop; whereas Sahu became an outer member. Vikram had been happy for quite some time after that incident.

After three years of being under the leadership of Vikram, Shadow Workshop allowed Skytell Group to greatly profit from God's Realm Online , quickly becoming a large financial group. However, Vikram would never have thought that Vaibhav  would be the one to fire him, personally.

Since he had been reincarnated, he had an absolute advantage within God' Realm Online that others did not. Naturally, he would not be joining Shadow to become a tool that profited others. He wanted to walk a different path; a path where he fought not for others, but for himself. He wanted to remove the need for his parents to send him living expenses. He wanted to pay back all the debt they had collected. To do that, he wanted to venture, to start his own Workshop, to start his own company, and to build his own virtual kingdom... all to live a better life.

As soon as Vikram arrived at Teaching Block 1, he caught sight of a thin and tall figure in front of the building. The tanned youth was pacing around the hallway in a panic; this person was Sahil.

"Vikram, you've finally decided to show up. Fortunately, registration hasn't closed yet, so let's hurry in and sign up." Sahu said anxiously after seeing Vikram. 

Vikram shook his head, seriously saying, "Sahu, I'm not joining Shadow; I'll be opening my own Workshop. Will you join me?"

Sahu was someone Vikram met in another Virtual Reality game and the former had pretty good skills. The two of them had faced many challenges together and they were no different than true brothers at this point. During their time together working in Shadow, Sahu showed great talent in administration, even though he lacked the talent for gaming. He managed the hundred thousand Guild members clearly and orderly. If Vikram had Sahu's help this time, his plans would be one step further. Yet, he would respect Sahu's decision regardless. It was because Vikram had nothing right now, and Sahu's family circumstances were not that well, either. Sahu had only chosen to become a professional gamer and join Shadow to earn some money for living expenses.

Sahu blanked at Vikram's words, lowering his head in silence. It was just too sudden. Not only that, the Vikram that he saw today felt different. Unlike his usual impatient attitude, Vikram currently gave off an unshakable and confident aura.

After a full minute, Sahu raised his head to look at Vikram.

"Vikram, stop speaking nonsense. Do you know how much a Virtual Gaming Helmet costs? That's 8,000 Rupees. You also need at least six people to start up a Workshop. What about the workplace, salary, and everything else? Just the initial startup funds would require seventy to eighty thousand. There are also the follow-up investments. That's a lot of Money. Do you have that many cash right now?" Sahu was very aware of Vikram's circumstances. He knew Vikram's  household wasn't well off, so he wanted to persuade Vikram away from this sort of crazy thinking.

"You're right. Right now, I don't even have the money for a  Virtual Gaming Helmet." Vikram nodded his head in admittance. It was like Sahu said. Even just seventy to eighty thousand was considered a small amount. Shi Feng recalled Vaibhav Patil had spent over 5,000,000 Rupees for the hundred man Workshop he had recruited. He had also spent more in the later stages to upgrade the Workshop's quality and strength.

"Since this is so, rather than take the risk, wouldn't it be safer to join Shadow? At the very least, Shadow can provide us with Virtual Gaming Helmets. Otherwise, forget becoming professional players; we wouldn't even be able to play the game." Seeing that Vikram understood the core of the problem, Sahu sighed in relief as he pulled Vikram into the teaching block.

Vikram shook away Sahu's hand, sternly staring at him before saying in a grave tone, "I still plan on starting my own Workshop. I don't want to be controlled by others. So, Sahu, will you join me?"

Vikram would not insist to Sahu since he did not have any guarantees. He also couldn't reveal the secret that he had been reincarnated. He could only hope that Sahu would believe in him.

Seeing Vikram's serious expression, Sahu felt Vikram was acting weird today. This was madness. Everyone knew you couldn't earn money during the initial periods of virtual games. Did Vikram have some way to make money in God's RealmOnline? Even if they did make money, it would be after a few months. They did not have that much time to waste.

After hesitating for quite some time, Sahu reluctantly answered, "I get it. You're the boss. I'll start a Workshop together with you but what about the Virtual Gaming Helmets? We can't play the game without them, right?"

Vikram's tightened brows immediately relaxed as he happily clapped Sahu's shoulders, saying, "Now this is my good brother! Don't worry about the gaming helmets. I recall that God's Realm Online had a trial period available for university students. Every university has a distribution point and, as long as you show them your student identification, then, for ten days, you can obtain a gaming helmet for free. Let's go and take a look."

"What do we do after ten days?" Sahu's tanned face turned ashen, suddenly feeling his future was pitch black. Why did he have to believe Vikram? Could it be Vikram's confidence and steadiness? There wouldn't be a problem venturing together with Vikram, right?

What could you do with ten days in God's Realm Online?

They would definitely miss out on the recruitment period of Workshops after ten days. In the end, they still had to buy the gaming helmet but where would the money come from?

Not even a professional gamer with a group would be able to earn 16,000 Rupees within ten days of God's Realm Online's opening.

"Leave the money problem to me."

Vikram revealed a confident smile as he clapped Sahu's shoulders.

Earning 16,000 Rupees in ten days was indeed a pure fantasy. However, he had his spirit as a reincarnated person. No matter what the challenges were, he would break through them all and the release of God's Realm Online was the starting point of his rise.

Afterward, Vikram brought Sahu to retrieve the virtual gaming helmets. He then used all his money to buy two large boxes of instant noodles, placing them under his desk in his rented house. They were enough to last him for over ten days. After briefing Sahu on some things in God's Realm Online, Vikram quietly waited for God's Realm Online opening.

25th of April, 9 pm. Within the dark and silent room, a few glimmers of light flickered alive.

Vikram laid on his bed, gently pushing the start button as he closed his eyes.

"God's Realm Online, here I come."