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Chapter 2: "The First Friend, A Lifelong Rival"

December 3rd, Glory, see you there!

Bold, dramatic characters, two crossed swords, a logo with wings that seem ready to burst out of the frame—these images, in all shapes and sizes, have invaded televisions, the internet, and even every corner of the city for a full month.

“A month? By December 3rd, that’s exactly six weeks, 42 days!” Ethan Brooks said as he casually closed the pop-up Glory ad on the webpage he’d just opened. This soon-to-be-released online game was constantly bombarding everyone’s eyes.

Click, click, click...

The only response was the sound of keyboard and mouse—light, yet rhythmic.

Ethan Brooks turned his head to glance over. On the glowing screen, a bloody battle raged, but the face reflected there was utterly nonchalant. Clearly, this sort of thing didn’t even require full effort from this guy.

“Did you hear what I said?” Ethan Brooks pressed again, clearly annoyed. This was nothing difficult; there was no way that guy was so focused he couldn’t hear anything else.

“I heard you. Glory. My ears are bleeding from hearing about it, can’t you tell?” James Carter replied. Ever since Glory’s overwhelming publicity campaign began, Ethan Brooks had brought up the game countless times every day. Who knew just how much he was looking forward to it?

“The promotion period isn’t that long, but with this explosive momentum, it’s enough. This game is bound to be a big deal,” Ethan Brooks said.

“Mm.” James Carter responded blandly, clearly tired of the topic.

“I heard the game won’t use account passwords anymore. You’ll need a swipe card to log in,” Ethan Brooks said.

“Mm.”

“You need a special card reader to log in,” Ethan Brooks said.

“Mm.”

“At least the card reader is pretty cheap,” Ethan Brooks said.

“Mm.”

“But the computer requirements seem a bit high!” Ethan Brooks said.

“Really?” James Carter finally reacted, his keyboard and mouse suddenly clattering furiously, the screen erupting in even more bloodshed before quickly calming down. James Carter turned around, looking extremely serious. “What kind of specs do you need?”

Ethan Brooks didn’t answer. He had two computers here; the better one only just met Glory’s minimum requirements, while the other was way below par. James Carter wasn’t much of a computer hardware buff, but after months of using these two machines, Ethan Brooks was sure he didn’t need to explain.

“We’ll have to upgrade,” James Carter said, still serious. He might not be as excited about Glory as Ethan Brooks, but he clearly didn’t want to lose his right to choose. Whether a game is good or bad, you have to play it to know.

“Yeah, but money’s a bit tight right now...” Ethan Brooks said.

Having lived here for several months, James Carter was well aware of the siblings’ situation. Orphans with no relatives, the two relied entirely on Ethan Brooks making a living as a professional gamer. After James Carter arrived, there was one more pro gamer in the house. Making ends meet wasn’t too hard, but scraping together enough money to buy two new computers at once was a stretch. If there’d been any extra cash, Ethan Brooks would have ditched his antique machine long ago.

“Looks like we’ll have to go to an internet café first,” James Carter said.

“Yeah.” Ethan Brooks nodded repeatedly.

“Looks like you already picked out a café?” James Carter said.

“Of course. I’ve been broke for over a week now,” Ethan Brooks admitted frankly.

December 3rd, midnight.

Glory’s server launch time was really not very considerate. Midnight—when most online gamers should be logging off and shutting down. But any complaints about this arrangement were quickly drowned out by the players’ enthusiasm.

Six weeks, 42 days. Glory’s overwhelming publicity and the steady stream of teasers had whetted every online gamer’s appetite. Who cared whether the servers opened at noon or midnight?

That night, countless people were raring to go.

That night, internet cafés in every major city became the liveliest “nightclubs” around.

H City, Excellent Era Internet Café.

James Carter and Ethan Brooks had come early to claim two computers. The closer it got to midnight, the wiser their decision seemed. The café was packed, and those without a seat were left frustrated and irritable. These days, it was rare for people like James Carter and Ethan Brooks to come to an internet café just because they couldn’t play at home. Internet cafés had become social gathering spots; gaming side by side was a totally different experience from just chatting online.

As midnight approached, every seat in Excellent Era Internet Café was taken, and those who didn’t get a computer had already left in disappointment. The café owner, Charles Foster, strolled around, very pleased with the scene. For Glory, he’d really gone all out—every computer in the café had been upgraded and equipped with a Glory login device. In the whole area, no other café had gone this far. Most were still waiting to see how things played out. Despite all the hype, who knew if Glory would just turn out to be another bubble? After all these years, how many games had come with high hopes and left with disappointment?