Chapter One: The Newcomer's Days

March 8, 2138. Today is my birthday, and also my first official day after leaving school. To be honest, that university was pretty lousy, but at least it gave me something to do for four years. I have no idea how the time passed—while others paired up, I was still single, and when I was just one millimeter away from bumping into a pillar, I stopped myself, saving my first kiss from being lost to it!

A burst of noise came from ahead—it was an advertisement. To give people with excess energy a place to vent and kill time, the virtual network had become the best tool. I heard this time it was a game jointly supported by several governments. Geez, what kind of world is this! This is a new global game—"Second World." Because the game has strong official backing, in-game items and currency can be directly exchanged for international currency, which was forbidden in previous games (though private trading was always tolerated). Watching the lively promotional event, I couldn't help but feel tempted. Since I have two months of vacation now, why not give it a try? I have no earth-shattering ambitions—just want to find a good wife and live a happy life.

Heh, my great-grandmother (a strange old lady) said I was a bit unlucky before twenty, but would get lucky starting at twenty. But so far, I'm still a standard bachelor and a poor guy. Sigh...

After ordering a set of equipment to play "World," I headed back to my lair. My dad and mom are so-called "archaeology experts"—a profession with no future! They're never home, and if it weren't for the daily holographic projections, I wouldn't even recognize them.

"Bo~~~ Good son, happy birthday! Your mom and I are on an expedition in the Amazon and can't come back to celebrate with you (just say you're traveling, why call it an expedition and leave lonely me behind). The gift has already been sent to you. This time it's something very special, left to you by your great-grandmother."

"Good baby, be obedient at home." Sigh, I really can't do anything about my mom—I'm already this old and she still calls me by my childhood nickname.

I turned off the SkyComm and assembled the gaming equipment. Oh yeah! The helmet looks pretty cool, quite flashy. After fiddling with it for ages, I finally got it set up. Time to check out the gift from my parents.

I opened the package—ah, it's a necklace engraved with a magical pentagram. Boohoo~ an antique!... Hopefully it's not just some street stall junk?

"Second World" officially launches on March 10, with the first week free to play to attract users. I'm a solo player, not too fond of teaming up—mainly because it's a hassle. Although I've played quite a few games, I don't know many people and can't really be called an expert. Little Henry counts as one of my closest buddies. We've played a lot of games together. A few days ago, he was already trying to rope me in, but I hadn't agreed yet. I should let him know.

"Little Henry, it's me."

"Boss, I've been looking everywhere for you! So, how about it? Let's rule the world together and pick up some beauties."

"Yeah right, you old virgin! Are we going to level up first this time, or make money? Got a plan for development?"

"Same old rules. I'll make money, you level up, and then you can help me out later."

"I knew you were lazy! Fine, it's settled. What class are you picking?"

"No way, you haven't read the official website? This time, the game's classes are recommended directly by the computer based on each player's DNA, picking the most suitable one. If you choose freely, you might run into problems later. If it's really like they say, I bet this will spark a revolution in online gaming! These games rely on having lots of people—just thinking about it gets me excited!"

"Heh, I just got back and haven't had time to check. Alright, let's talk tomorrow. Bye." After hanging up, I quickly went to check the introduction—turns out that guy got the jump on me, a blow to my status as the boss.

There are five main classes in Second World: Warrior, Mage, Taoist, Archer, and Thief. In addition, there are support classes like Chef, Blacksmith, and Appraiser. Of course, there are also some overpowered hidden classes for players to discover themselves. Second World is also called Dreamspace, with each country as a separate zone, and for now, countries are isolated from each other. The only exception is Europe, which is treated as a single European zone. The only way to travel abroad from each country is a bridge—Naihe Bridge, as it's called by Easterners. Normally, only players above level 80 can freely travel between the two continents. Or you could try killing all the level 100 guards on both sides of the bridge, but that's basically suicide—if you're tired of living, you can experience what it's like to be instantly killed. Each country's classes, treasures, monsters, etc., differ according to their culture and geography, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

In the game:

Dying once causes you to lose 10% of your total experience, and equipment and money are dropped at random.

1 gold coin = 0.1 yuan (the unified Earth currency at the time)

1 gold coin = 100 silver coins = 1000 copper coins, and players can exchange them directly at the local bank.

"Ding~~~~~" "Hey~~ who is it? Are you trying to kill me? So noisy this early."

"Boss, get up! There's only half an hour left before it starts. I heard the first 10,000 registered players have a chance at extra rewards. My name is still Money Mao, what are you going to call yourself?"