Five years ago, Seth's life took a massive upheaval.
Before that, he had everything he wanted. Wealth. Good looks. Excellent health. Yet, he lacked one crucial element; compassion for other people, mainly his family.
Seth never bothered with his family. He would only speak to them twice a week, and would never leave his room. They were useless in his eyes.
What was the point of socializing with his family?
As long as he did his chores and got good grades, it was okay, right?
He never realized that giving his family the cold shoulder would forever be the greatest regret in his life.
On that very night, five years ago, Seth returned from his rebellious trip only to find the battered bodies of his parents and siblings.
For the first time in his life, an apparent look of shock donned on his rigid face and he screamed.
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Ascel Hospital, top floor.
*Beep!* *Beep!*
A medical machine released rhythmic sounds in a certain room. These sounds wafted in Seth's ear as he sat still on a chair.
Beside him were five beds, with comatose individuals laying still on them.
Seth glanced at the familiar faces on the bed. They were his family. His parents and three siblings.
Since five years ago, they have been in a comatose state. He met them that night and nothing he bought managed to wake them up. At this point, his wealth couldn't save his family.
Seth stood up and walked toward his mother. She had dark hair like him and was a marvelous beauty. But the tubes covering her face hid her excellent features and only showed her pale skin.
Seth clenched his fist upon seeing this. His fingernails tried to hurt his skin, but his skin proved tougher. He forgot in the real world, he was still human.
"Mother. You were always a jovial one. Yet, I discarded your smile like an ingrate. I'm sorry." Seth whispered his apology for the umpteenth time.
No one could ever imagine that Seth Ravenswood was capable of apologies. That thought bordered the realm of fantasy!
Seth caressed the face of his mother. "I should have hope but hoping will achieve nothing. I know now. The only reason you have not woken up is that you don't have a strong tether to this world. Father and the rest are in the same state as you. I am the only one left. I am worth nothing."
His croaking voice filled the silent room. "No one in their right mind would want to come back to a person like me. Heh, I am really sh*tty."
"I have found a way. A bogus way. One that I fear might have extreme consequences, but it is still a way. A way to bring you… all of you back. 'At the peak shall be your reward…' huh."
Seth knew what he wanted. He had a clear goal. He would finish the game and attain the wish. His wish was to bring back his family.
However, his only fear was how long it was going to take.
Seth went back to his chair and accepted the comfortable silence of the room.
His mind thought back to his game progress. The game was now in its second arc. The progress of the players would increase marginally, but what about him?
He had no way of constantly increasing his strength. He couldn't use mana to strengthen his body.
'I have to find a way. There is no time. The gap between me and the other players would widen very soon.'
When Caleb and the others fought the oneriths, he observed what advantages magic brings to the table. It topples the field in the caster's favor easily.
Seth also learned of the system of magic in the game world.
Raina had informed him that they were divided into orders. First Order, Second Order, Third Order, and so on. The higher one's order was, the better the magic utilized was.
It wasn't easy learning magic. There were many schools and styles of magic. Most of them were secretive and wouldn't teach just anyone.
Raina studied at The Ancient Hill, a school founded by the adventure guild. It recruited young promising children and turned them into fine mages and warriors. Yet, it had to be said that most of the students were merely average on the continent.
Raina was simply too talented. It was rare that someone from The Ancient Hill became a third-order mage.
Meanwhile, Caleb mastered his warrior arts at the School of Zephyr, one of the most popular schools in Ryithh. It has branches all over the continent.
'How do I bridge the gap between unschooled and schooled?' Seth wondered.
Just as he was thinking, someone entered the room.
The young lady, dressed in a nurse's setup, approached Seth and said. "Seth, I didn't think I would see you today."
A complicated look flashed on Seth's face, but he hid it.
He stared too long at the lady's face, not noticing the awkwardness of the situation.
He replied with a casual smile. "I have been away for a month. I figured I should at least see my parents today. Jasmine, when do you think they will wake up?"
"Doctor Ray performed another checkup. He said whenever they are ready. All you need to do—"
Seth finished her sentence for her. "--is hope."
She had told him this multiple times when he raised the same question. Having been hoping for five years, he knew he needed more than just hope.
Seth stood up and went for the door.
Before leaving, he smiled at Jasmine. "You look good today. Sh*t, what am I saying? You always look good."
Immediately, he left without waiting for a response.
Jasmine was… well, she was an old friend. To be more specific, she was his ex.
He met her a year after his family was hospitalized. They had hit it off easily, but half a year later, their relationship shattered because of something he did… the usual Seth's jerk routine.
Entering his car, Seth felt his phone vibrate, leading him to pick it up.
He opened his message app and saw a bunch of messages from different people, but he only focused on the one at the top.
"Meet at Doom Bar. ASAP. Btw, Seth, yes, you. Get your ass here!"
Reading the message, Seth laughed.
"Why would he text us after a long time?" Seth wondered amidst his fits of laughter.
The message belonged to his friend. It addressed the only group of friends that Seth had made after his family's incident. They were so scummy that Seth couldn't shake them off.
"Hehehe, let's see what that fool is up to?" Seth smiled.
He didn't waste time accelerating his car and speeding towards the meetup location.
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Doom Bar.
Seth opened the door of this bar. He ignored the frightened looks of some people here. He was used to it. After all, he and his friends terrorize this bar often.
'Ah, home sweet home.' Seth caught the rich smell of alcohol.
"Hey, over here." A voice called out to him.