Finn sat down at the table, grabbed his fork, and began eating his breakfast, which consisted of crispy bacon, scrambled eggs, and some cherry tomatoes on the side.
Finn's mom, Helen, was a housewife, and her cooking was extremely delicious. Finn would even sometimes tell her that if she were to open a restaurant, it would definitely get a Michelin star.
But she always laughed it off, saying that she loved cooking for him and his dad just so she could see the smile on their faces after they ate her food.
During his meal, Finn started to think about how he could get his father to go to the doctor.
Obviously, he couldn't just say, "Hey dad, you look awful, go to the hospital." That would either anger him for making fun of his age, or his reaction would be "Hahahaha... no."
As this was Finn's family problem, Loki decided to just stay out of it.
Eliminating plan after plan, Finn decided to try the good son approach. He put down his fork, which caused it to clank, catching the attention of both his mother and father.
He looked into his father's eyes and started his well-thought-out conversation.
"Dad, you know that I have always been a good son, getting good grades, not complaining, always helping you guys out, and not asking for anything, right?"
"Uhh…. Yeah? Now that you say it like that, sure. Of course, I think you were and are a good son. But where are you going with this?"
Josh inquired with a hint of suspicion in his tone.
"Well, there is something I want, and I know you might say no, but think of how good of a son I have been so far."
Hearing this, Helen's ears pricked up, and she instantly interjected herself into the conversation.
"Darling, you know that we are not rich, but that doesn't mean we don't have money, so if you need something, you can always tell us."
"Well, what I want is not something you can buy…"
Finn knew he just had to say it, but now that he had gotten to this point, he got nervous with both of his parents' eyes expectingly staring at him.
He took a deep breath, and after mentally preparing himself, he opened his mouth.
"What I want is for dad to undergo a medical checkup. I know you dislike hospitals, but your stomach aches are worsening, and I want you to be healthy."
Josh expected something like a pet or something, so this stunned him for a second, but he quickly gathered his thoughts and answered.
"Don't worry. It's just because I get easily hungr-"
"Please! Even if it is just because you get hungry, it is still a reoccurring pain, and that could be a sign of something really bad. I'm not asking for much, so could you just do this for me?"
Finn almost spilled his drink as he slammed the table.
After Helen heard this, she started to take this stomach pain more seriously. She had always ignored it, trusting her husband's words, but if what Finn said was true and Josh's life was in danger, she couldn't ignore it anymore.
"Darling, I agree with Finn. You should have your stomach checked. You know it's just the three of us, and I don't know what I would do if something were to happen to you."
Helen was on the brink of tears. She was always extremely emotional, so much so that if she watched a film with a sad scene in it, she would use an entire tissue box.
Josh tended to be stubborn, but with his son's and wife's pleas, he couldn't just say no. Josh didn't say or show it much, but he loved his family very much, in fact. Thus, seeing his son and wife worried about him, he decided to accept.
"Alright, I'm sure it's nothing, and they will just prescribe me some medicine, but I will do it for you guys."
Josh smiled affectionately while gently caressing his wife's cheek.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Finn got back to eating his breakfast while his dad was looking at what date he would be free to visit the hospital.
After finishing his breakfast, Finn rushed upstairs to his computer. Now that he had regressed, he needed to put his knowledge to good use.
As his mother previously said, they weren't a rich family, with only his father supporting the household with money, but because he worked as a programmer, it was enough to let them get by and have money for occasional luxuries.
Finn's plan was to abuse his knowledge of Second Life and get a head start on the other champions while making money doing so.
That way, if he meets up with them, he will be strong enough to defend himself and maybe even defeat them. And once the shutdown occurs, he will fight with them for the Earth's ownership.
Finn sat down at his table, remembering how the shutdown happened and the amount of chaos it had caused.
—-
The shutdown happened five years after the launch of SL (short for Second Life). The company producing the VR capsules announced that the game would be shutting down and everyone would have their in-game powers merged with their real-life bodies.
This first felt like an April Fool's joke because why would they shut down a game that was doing so well, but it sure as hell was not one.
When the top players of SL brought their powers into real life, chaos emerged. Those strong players became greedy after knowing they had the strength to take and do what they desired.
Cities were destroyed, aircrafts ceased flying out of fear of being destroyed by a rampaging player, and mankind as a whole began to collapse.
There were some who stood up against them, the so-called "good" players, who used their powers to aid humanity, but since there weren't many of them, there was only so much they could do.
And after a month of struggling, the world finally calmed down after the leaders of the countries were overthrown and guilds became the leading powers that took care of any players that wanted to cause chaos.
Soon after, though, the company that made Second Life issued a statement, shattering the peace.
In every city and in every corner of the Earth, the monitors flickered to a tall man with white hair, black eyes, a black tuxedo, and four pairs of white wings on his back that looked like the wings of an angel.
Holding a stack of papers, he started speaking into the microphone with his melodious voice.
"Hello everyone, my name is Gabriel, and I am one of the employees that worked on Second Life. After releasing our invention, the VR capsules, we gave everyone time to get stronger in the game. Then, we allowed you to bring your powers back into the real world."
He paused and flipped to another page.
"Now that you have had a month to familiarize yourself with your new powers, we shall move onto our third step, releasing dungeons and monsters into the real world!"
He yelled the last part as if wanting to hype up his listeners. But everyone listening to this speech was too shocked by what that man was talking about, so they just stood rooted at their spot, waiting for him to say, "Just kidding". Of course, that didn't happen.
"Ehm Ehm… I cannot see your reactions, but I'm sure that everybody is cheering right now."
Nobody was cheering. It was like someone stopped time, and everyone remained silent, waiting for him to finish.
"Anyway, you were most likely bored with your new powers, so by releasing the dungeons and monsters into this world, I'm sure everyone is going to have a lot of fun, now that you have a use for these powers!"
While smiling at the camera, he flipped to the next page.
"Just like in the game, the dungeons and monsters will have their ranks, and because they are going to be mostly the same, you can use your in-game knowledge to defeat them."
He threw away the stack of papers he was holding and clapped his hands.
"Oh, before I forget! There is an addition to the Earth's dungeons. if the dungeons stay uncleared for a long duration, they will overflow with monsters. The monsters will want your resources just as much as you desire theirs."
Gabriel did not divulge any information on the champions since this was a topic related to the gods, and hence the general populace was not privy to this information.
With that, he politely bowed, and after finishing his speech, the screens all turned black.
Before people could digest the information, they had just been told, a loud rumbling noise sounded in every part of the world.
It was like there was always a creature sleeping below the Earth's surface that was now awakening from its long slumber.
That is how the dungeons were created. Thus began the age of trying to survive in that new world.
People who fought in the dungeons would be called "players" because they used to play Second Life, and by defeating these dungeons, they would get stronger and richer. Provided that they managed to survive in them, that is.
All of this would happen five years in the future, but because Finn knew this, he could prepare himself to protect his loved ones, and to do that he had to reach the top.
Second Life would be released one week later, so Finn began writing down all the information he remembered from his previous life, and with Loki's help, a plan began slowly formulating inside his head.