Eternal Cultivation

A young man walked out of a train in Oakleaf City. 'Woah!' he looked at the surrounding train station and was surprised at how glossy and expensive looking it was. His black hair, fair skin, and childlike face made him look so very naive and simple-minded.

He followed some signs to get out of the train station and finally saw Oakleaf City in its full glory. He stopped in his tracks amazed at how big the buildings were, how many vehicles there were on the road, and just how well-dressed everyone looked. 

"So, which way is the Oakleaf University?" he wondered as he took out his cheap-looking phone and started looking up the map. 

After learning the directions, he started walking. He had a suitcase with him that he dragged along the city. Throughout the city he would see giant billboards and posters promoting a single thing, making him wonder just what was Eternal Cultivation? 

"Hmm… is that a new movie? Looks good. Maybe I will get to see what a big city's cinema looks like." His countryside village also had cinemas, but the screen was small, so he usually preferred watching the movies on his family computer. 

He finally reached the university and asked a few people to find his way to dormitory A. He walked up to a register table and got his key to his room. 

His room was numbered 205, so he walked into an elevator and got up. As he came out of the elevator, he got a phone call. He looked at the caller and realized his mom was calling him. He accepted the call. 

"Alex? Where are you? Did you reach the university?" a worried voice came from the other side of the phone. 

"Yes, mother. I am currently in the dormitory, look for my new room." Alex replied.

"Oh good, good. Here, your father wants to talk to you." 

"Hey son, how are you doing? Was the train ride okay? You didn't find it discomforting, right?" His father asked him in a worried voice. 

"No, Father. It was fine. In fact, it was amazing. I never knew trains went that fast." Alex said. 

"Haha," his father laughed from the other side of the phone, "That's what you get when you live your entire life on a farm. We shouldn't have home-schooled you. Fortunately, you will be getting new experiences now."

"It's okay Father. The school was in the town. It would've been hard for you to take me there regularly on a 2-hour ride." Alex said. 

"Alright. Remember what I told you okay? Don't be friends with bad people. There are a lot of different people in the big cities. Learn to figure out which people are good and which are not. You should be old enough to know what to do and what not to do. Oh yeah, and just because you are 18 and you can, don't go to those stupid clubs, I hear they are just a waste of money." 

Alex smiled a little and replied, "I understand, Father. My dorm room is coming up, so I will call you later."

"Alright, I will end the call then. Oh, right! Call Hannah and let her know you have arrived." "Bye," his father and mother said at the same time and ended the call. 

Alex walked up to Room 205 and opened the door using his key. When he opened the room, he was surprised.

He didn't expect his room to already have people staying in it. Inside were 3 young men. 2 of them were up and talking, while one was seemingly sleeping. The room has 2 bunk beds and 4 closets. Aside from that, Alex couldn't see anything there. 

"Hello, are you guys staying in this room as well?" he asked as he walked in. 

"Yes, Are you our new roommate?" one of the people asked. 

"Ah, yes," Alex said as he showed the key numbered 205. "Hello, my name is Alex Benton." He said as he walked in. 

"Oh, Hi. My name is Eric and this is Matt" Eric said introducing himself and the other person. 

"Hi," Matt greeted as well. 

"You just arrived right? So, I assume you haven't eaten anything yet. It's nearly 3 pm. Why don't you freshen up and we can go get some afternoon lunch in the cafeteria." 

Alex nodded and changed into a normal shirt and pants. He went to the bathroom attached to the room and cleaned himself. By the time he got out, the third man was already up. 

"I'm sure you can do it next time. Just buy a pill if you can't." 

"I know, but those cost money. And I'm not really playing to make money."

"Then you just gotta hope you breakthrough next time."

The man finally saw Alex. "Hey, you the new guy? Hi, I am Logan. What's up?" 

"Hello, my name is Alex," he replied too. Afterward, all of them walked to the cafeteria to get some food. The 3 started talking about the same thing they were talking about in the room and it made Alex confused. He didn't know the context. 

"What are you guys talking about exactly?" he asked. 

"Eternal Cultivation," Matt replied. 

"Oh, the new movie? I saw posters of it on the streets." Alex said with a face of understanding. 

Matt, Eric, and Logan looked at him with a look of confusion. Logan then said, "It's not a movie. It's the best VR game in existence. Don't you know about it?" he asked.

"A VR game? I didn't know about that. I only heard about the game today." Alex said. 

"It's already been out for a month and is the most played game of all time. How come you've never heard of it?" Matt was surprised.

"Oh, that's cause they don't have any billboards and posters near the farm. And I don't really get to be on the internet since I have to help my father with the work." Alex said. 

"Well, you can play now. You really must experience it." Eric said. 

"Oh, but I don't have a VR helmet or money to buy one," Alex said. 

"Don't worry about that, Eric here had got an old one, you can use that," Matt said. 

"Okay, then." 

Alex and the 3 walked back to the room and Eric handed him his old helmet that he was keeping in the closet. Now that he looked at it, 3 of the 4 beds all had VR helmets in them.

"They must've been playing before I came," Alex mumbled a little. 

"Just plug it in the socket there and you can start playing. Be sure to log out before 7 or you will miss dinner." Saying that Matt and the rest got into their beds and put on their helmets. After that, they went to asleep.

'They are playing now, huh?' Alex thought. He went to the only available bed, the lower bed of the right bunk bed, and put on his helmet. He plugged a wire into the socket and lay down on his bed. 

Soon a light started shining from inside the helmet and he finally heard something. 

<Welcome to the lands of 'Eternal Cultivation'>