You're such a slacker!

You've locked yourself out yet again?! How long did you intend to drive yourself insane solely for the sake of this game?

If I were you, I would stop playing those pointless games and concentrate on your studies so you can have a better future! You are no longer a kid!

Are you sure you want to continue playing this bullshit game? How many times do I need to tell you that playing online games is just a waste of time and you are still not listening to me?

No one in history has ever gotten rich by playing a stupid game, dumbass! You are just simply giving more money to the game's investors and its creator!

These were the comments you'd usually hear from your parents, friends who acted like they were smarts, and cousins who thought they were higher than you just  because they have gifted beautiful life to the point that everything they need could be granted easily. But at the end of the day, they're simply the people who couldn't grasp the true essence of the game.

Moreover, people's comments started to fade away after the Japanese Game Inventor created a new game that changed everyone's life.

Ranker's World Online was the first VRMMORPG NFT in the world. As of now, this game has captured the attention of all gamers and businessmen as it has taken the world's entertainment by storm. Plus, it was awarded as the highest-paid virtual reality game of all time.

Why were they engrossed in this online game? It has a simple answer, it's because a certain gamer could earn real money by selling the monsters' cores and the items collected inside the game. The interesting part here was, each core and item had a different value that depended on the market's value.

Sounds unbelievable, doesn't it? Well, nothing was impossible in the year 2080 when all the advanced technologies could surpass your expectations.

To explain it, a low-grade monster's core was worth of one dollar, a mid-grade monster's core was worth of five to six dollars, and a high-grade monster's core was worth thirteen to fifteen dollars.

About the items' value, was based on the items' rarity, so it means, the rarer the item the more money rankers could have.

The main goal of this game was to allow everyone to earn money while playing at home. At the same time, it wished to provide an opportunity for poor people to have a better life. It was conceivable because this game has previously assisted millions of individuals all around the world.

Additionally, according to the media, the highest-paying job right now was that of a professional player, who can make a 120 million dollar contract in a single year.

What would you do if you were the one to be given that chance?

__

To begin with, a young man gently opened up his eyes and smelled the slight scent of wood permeating his room. At first, his vision was hazy so he wiped his drowsy eyes.

He yawned and stretched his limbs. "Ahh... That's good sleep." After that, he placed his hands on the rough thin bed as he pushed himself into a stood-up position.

In front of him was a blurry old mirror, but it was enough to see his body's reflection. He had a slim physique, innocent face, slightly pale skin tone, silky long black hair, blue eyes, and a height of 180 centimeters.

His name was Ling Harada 18 years old and currently living with his little sister and his grandmother the one who took care of them at their very young age.

And what about his parents? They were both Japanese citizens, yet died due to the car accident. Ling was just 5 years old at the time, while his litter was only 2 years old.

Inside the room can be found a small bed good for one person, a tiny cupboard, a desk, a chair, and wood-paneled walls.

He placed his hand at the door and slowly pulled to open it, leading to the area including the kitchen and living room. Around him were the broken couch, dining table, and the comfort room 16 meters away from his current location.

Yes, their house wasn't that particularly large, and the only appliances they had were an old television, refrigerator, and a fan.

He narrowly lifted his head, glancing at the wall clock which was affixed to the wall using a concrete nail.

"It's already 6 o'clock in the morning, I need to cook and prepare so that I don't miss out on my 8 AM class," Ling remarked in a sleep tone, then started to wear the pink apron.

After 30 minutes, the rice was almost done and their breakfast was ready. In his opinion, it was far preferable to have something in your stomach before going to school so they can think properly.

Click!

Suddenly, Ling tilted his head to the place where he heard the clicking sound. The door opened, revealing a young woman had long brown bed hair, blue eyes, and the average figure of a 15-year-old girl.

"Good morning, brother Ling..." She greeted him in a sleepy tone.

"Good morning, Aika! Take a seat and eat your breakfast if you don't want to be late for your class." He said as he pulled the wooden chair for his little sister. "Where's Grandma? Why you didn't invite her here to eat breakfast with us or she's still not home yet?" He inquired, placing a glass of milk and meal in front of her.

"Grandma isn't home yet. Aunt Morga said it's much better if grandma stayed in their house in the meantime, so someone could check on her since both of us are studying." She replied nonchalantly before adding these words. "To be honest, I feel sad every time I can't see grandma in our house, but I don't want to be selfish, grandma needs more assistance."

It appeared that their Grandmother has a disease as a result of her old age, needing someone could help her all the time.

"That's precisely what I'm thinking right now, Aika. Once I save some money from my part-time job, let's bring her to the doctor, okay? So don't worry about her, I'm sure aunt Morga would take wonderful care of her," he said casually as the two of them began eating.

_

Soon, Ling had already finished eating his food and taking a bath at nearly 7 o'clock sharp. As Akai's class would start at 9:00 AM. he left their house first.

He was dressed in a white school uniform that had a design of their University crest and under was black pants. Well, he attended a prominent University after receiving a scholarship from the Government.

Moreover, instead of taking a bus, he decided to walk down the alleyway to reach the University. Why? He believed that he needs to save more money since the income he received from working at the Grocery Store wasn't that high.

For him, it didn't matter whether he walked at a slow pace as the typical travel time before he reaches the University was around fifteen minutes.

After exiting the alleyway, he spotted the main road the area where he could see the dull gray clear sky, people walking in the same uniform as him, large establishments, and costly cars passing in front of him.

"Slap soil?"

Ling said to himself but eventually shook his head as he realized that he don't have to feel envious of them just because they had fancy devices and cars.

...

After a few were moments, alas, Ling arrived at the huge university. But this time he had expressionless on his face and avoiding making interaction or even an eye contact with the other students. Hmm... He was living on the bottom tier of life, it was inevitable for him to not get bullied by the rich students.

As he walked into the corridor, the students started to stare at him, showing how they were disgusted to see him in this university. 

Eh? How he could go to this University with his worn pants and bag?!

That man is destroying the University's reputation, he should not be here!

Ew! By just simply looking at him, I feel my stomach turning upside down!

Well, bullying from the other students was something he had to deal with on his daily basis. Despite the fact that he was capable of defending himself against them, he never attempted it at least once. His reasoning was that each wealthy student here had parents who have huge influences in this University, such as judges, wealthy businesspeople, and so on.

To put it simply, he didn't even try to engage in any trouble at this institution, knowing it could lead to losing his scholarship and being booted out.

'I already endured those words for the past three years... Just endured Ling... You only need to resist for a few months to graduate and escape from this cruel place.' He talked to himself, trying to calm his mind a little bit.

He sighed deeply, then slid the door to open it and entered the air-conditioned room. After that, he sat on the chair positioned next to the large transparent window, far away from his classmates. Since he wasn't looking at the others, he didn't notice the man who was waving his hand.

"Oi, good morning, Ling! Why do you have a gloomy face at this early morning?"

A young man that had brown hair, brown eyes, a handsome face, an average skin tone, and was taller than Ling by 5 centimeters approached him with a broad smile on his face.

His name was Hary Akio. Because of his handsome face and popularity, most of the women in this University were attracted to him.

Furthermore, by just simply looking at him, you could easily tell that he also came from a wealthy family. But not like the others, Hary treated Ling with respect, or easy to say, he was his best friend.

"Good morning, Hary!" He greeted him back before replying to his question. "Hehe~, it's nothing, don't mind me."

"You know? You are still not good at lying. They bullied you again, isn't it?" He asked him and seemed plan to do something with their classmates, but Ling immediately stopped him.

"Please Hary, don't worry about me, I don't mind those words at all. They're just wasting their saliva."

Hary calmed down a bit after seeing Ling's reaction, the reaction that he was protecting something special. Or to be exact, he understood Ling doing this as he was securing his scholarship, one wrong move, he will lose it in just a blink of an eye.

Tch!

Hary clicked his tongue, then sat in front of him. "Why are you always letting them do that to you?"

Ling scratched the back of his head with an uncomfortable smile on his face. "You know the reason, hehe."

"Whatever... As long as they didn't physically hurt you, I would do nothing just for your sake." Hary uttered and spits the main reason why he approached him. "Back in the business, did you receive the package that I recently sent to your address?"

"Package? Ling gradually rubbed his chin and looked at the ceiling, trying to remember if he noticed a box earlier. "Ohh... That box? I thought it was for Aika since she was always buying stuff online."

"No, that's for you!" Hary said in a high tone.

As Hary mentioned this, he recalled the brown box lying next to the front door. "For me? Why are you giving me a package? Don't tell me you're starting to fall in love with me, huh?" He smiled maliciously, mocking Hary.

The two were looking at each other, then they suddenly chuckled. "You are making me laugh, Ling. You know that I'm a man, Hahaha!"

"Hahaha, I know, I'm just kidding! He wiped the tears that formed in the corner of his eyes. "Back in the business, Hary. What's that package all about? And why are you giving that kind of stuff?" He inquired.

"That's a console coming from the game called Ranker's World Online. Do you want to earn extra money, isn't it? Try to play it that's your chance."

Although Hary wanted to explain the game mechanics, he hadn't had enough time to do it as their professor already approached the room.

Moreover, Ling wasn't stupid to not know about the first VRMMORPG NFT as it was talked about worldwide. The problem was, he had no idea how exactly played this game.

LET STARTS THE CLASS!

"What's the matter? Why are you giving me this kind of stuff?" He said while blinking his eyes in surprise.

...

Ringgggg!!!!

Just like that, the entire University was enveloped by the loud sound of a bell, signifying that their class today was already over.

"Ling, sorry to say I can't teach more about the game, I have a basketball match today, sorry! Just explore the game in the meantime and create your character, okay?!" Hary said in a hurried tone while waving his hand as he eventually left the room.

Ling waved back and forgot Hary was a star basketball player in this school. "That's fine, Hary! Good luck with your match and thank you for the console.

When he got back home, he noticed Aika wasn't home yet. He immediately opened the package and saw inside it was the black VR helmet and two wireless gloves.

As soon as he wore it, a blue screen appeared in front of him.

[Welcome to the Ranker's World Online! Soon, a new world awaits you!]