Ray just dragged himself and slumped on the sofa. Just to refresh his memory, he replayed the video.
It wasn't like he didn't already know what the video contained.
After all, this was an unwanted moment in his life that he would never forget.
He remembered the three who were beating him in the video.
They were from the rival team in his college gaming batch.
Instead of the three beating him, Ray focused on the people laughing in the background.
His own teammates.
All of them were from his own gaming batch.
Everything had started three years ago with the release of the first true virtual reality game: Zenaris Online.
At first, people treated it like any other game.
They were wrong.
The kind of interest this second reality gained was unprecedented.
In just half a year after the launch, the game had already started overtaking the entire entertainment industry on the planet.
That, along with the impenetrable monetary system present in the game, challenged even the monetary system on which the entire world worked.
Many tried to control this change but failed so miserably that just after a year of launch, all kinds of institutes started having jobs related to the game.
With that, even governments as well as armies all over the world joined this new reality.
Among those changes was the introduction of a gaming batch within schools and colleges.
Basically, a program where all these places became recruitment grounds for all sorts of organizations.
Although late, last year, after the second anniversary of the Zenaris Online event, he managed to get into college through the game batch system.
It was just that his journey was not smooth because of all the competition within his batch.
Instead of glory, his year-long grind resulted in that social life-ending video.
He clenched his fist. 'All this just for that woman. Pathetic.' He cursed his own stupidity.
Aren suddenly closed the television and asked again, "Are you okay, man? Don't worry about the videos."
Ray just continued to stare at the gaming pod.
The social life was one thing, but his reality in the game made him click his tongue.
Wait. Suddenly, he pushed himself up and almost fell in the process.
He turned to Aren and almost shouted, "What's the time?"
Aren took a step back and pointed to the wall clock. "It's 5:30 p.m. Why?"
Ray closed his eyes to think. 'Shit, the class challenge happened around this time, right?'
Instinctively, he turned toward the bed. Just next to it was a spotless metallic-silver gaming pod.
Even though it had been years, he still remembered every little detail of this day.
Everything from the past two years started flashing through his head.
He gulped as a mild smile formed on his face.
He murmured, "Everything started today, right?"
Aren leaned toward him. "Come again?"
Ray just shook his head and started limping toward his gaming pod.
Aren shouted from the back, "Didn't you say you wanted to take a rest from the game?"
Ray froze. 'I came back, right? Shouldn't I avoid taking that dungeon class?'
He stared at the silver pod as all the memories flashed through his head.
Him getting dropped.
For them to kick him out.
Her betrayal. Those threats and the bullet.
Just thinking about it made him shiver.
'If I take the Dungeon Master class again… won't everything repeat? Is it worth the risk?'
In his past life, today he gained the most unique class: the Dungeon Master class, which allowed him to rule over a dungeon within the game.
Inside Zenaris Online, the more powerful a class was, the harsher the restrictions placed on it.
And even among them, the Dungeon Master had the highest level of restriction.
If someone managed to break his dungeon core, that would be the end of all his hard work, as his character would instantly be deleted.
Just thinking about it made him remember his past life. He had already gone through that pain before.
Just one slip-up, and he lost two years of hard work.
'Was it worth taking that much risk this time? Now that I am back, wouldn't it be better not to take it?'
He started breathing fast.
'No… the downside is too bad. Especially when the dungeons in Zenaris Online had rewards that could change a person's entire life.'
Selecting that class would make him the enemy of the entire player base.
He took a step back, but an even more excruciating pain shot through his chest. This one came right from his soul as he stomped on the ground.
"Fcccck!"
He started dragging himself back toward his gaming pod.
'Didn't I already waste my first life? Would wasting a second one make it any different?'
Fighting against all the pain, he reached the metal pod and opened its plastic lid.
He knew it might be a stupid decision, but that Dungeon Master class had become a part of him.
Until he made sure he had that Dungeon Master class, he could not sit still.
Not thinking much, he jumped inside his game pod.
"Hey, we have to clean this mess."
He looked back at Aren and nodded calmly. "I will be back in an hour."
With that, he closed the lid and tapped the power button.
For a moment, there was nothing but darkness.
Then a red light scanned his body.
[User registration confirmed. Logging in...]
A weightless sensation pulled at him, and he found himself floating in the darkness.
Then two massive ZA letters appeared in front of him, glowing with a golden hue.
[Welcome to Zenaris Online.]
A bright light engulfed him.
As it faded, he woke inside a small wooden room lined with bookshelves, a simple desk, and a bed in the corner.
Just then, a red message popped up before him.
[Alert!!!
Your entry pass has been denied. You have 30 seconds to leave the room.]
Ray dismissed it immediately.
His teammates were probably behind it. Right now was not the time to deal with them.
He burst out of the room and sprinted toward the market.
He still needed the final items for the class change.