'What the hell! Don't tell me I have to endure this pain in the whole process.'
Liam yelled in his mind, forcing himself to endure the agony. He needed to keep his heart calm; if he let it disrupt the process, everything would be ruined, and there might not be a second chance.
Slowly, he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. He tried to resist, but it was no use. In the end, his mind surrendered, and he gave in to the darkness.
>>>
It didn't take long. Barely a minute had passed before he slowly started to regain consciousness. His mind was clouded, and his heart felt heavy.
His body felt unstable, as though it was taking longer than usual to adjust like he wasn't longer in control of himself. When his eyes finally opened, he realized he was standing in the middle of a room he didn't recognize.
"Where am I?" The words unintentional slipped out of his mouth before he could even think.
The room was bright, but the light wasn't from regular lamps. Instead, large computer screens illuminated the space, their glowing light casting an odd, artificial glow across the walls. The screens were everywhere—on every wall and in every corner of the room. It was almost as if the room itself was swallowed by technology.
"Why am I here?" he muttered, looking around, trying to make sense of his surroundings. His mind in panic, but he couldn't find a logical explanation for any of it. Something felt off, and then, a thought hit him like a wave.
'Wait… don't tell me I died, and now I've been... transmigrated again?'
His heart skipped a beat. The thought seemed insane, but it also felt strangely familiar. He couldn't ignore the feeling in his gut that this situation was eerily similar to something he had experienced before.
"Why does this feel exactly like the first time?" he asked, his voice low, almost to himself.
Questions began flooding his mind, one after another. What happened to me? Did I really die? Who brought me here? Why does this place look so strange?
No matter how hard he tried to think, the answers wouldn't come. Instead, his mind was flooded with even more questions, each one only adding to his confusion.
"Here you are, Liam, the best player of Xianxia Eroge."
The sudden voice startled him, breaking through his chaotic thoughts. It came from one corner of the room, calm yet mocking.
Liam spun around, his heart racing, and his eyes locked onto the speaker. A middle-aged man was seated on the only chair in the room. His fingers moved across a keyboard at an impossible speed, typing so quickly that they blurred. It didn't seem like his hands were even stopping, as if his fingers had eyes of their own, finding each key effortlessly.
Liam's jaw dropped. As someone who prided himself on his computer skills, he had never seen anything like this. The man's speed was on a completely different level.
"H-How do you know my name?" Liam stammered, finally processing the man's earlier words.
The man didn't pause or even look up. His fingers continued their furious typing as if the keyboard was an extension of his body. He wore a faint smirk.
This was unexpected. The man not only knew his name but also his achievements in Xianxia Eroge. Did this man know him or....?
'Wait! Did I return to my original body after dying in that river?' Liam questioned himself.
If there were any answers to his questions, they would have to come from the man sitting in front of him. Liam couldn't shake the feeling that this man knew exactly what was happening.
Taking a deep breath, Liam tried to calm his nerves. He shifted his focus to the room around him. Massive computers lined the walls, their blinking lights casting a glow across the room.
As he continued to observe, something caught his eye, making his heart skip a beat.
He turned toward some of the screens, and his eyes widened when he saw it. The monitors displayed something shocking.
"Xianxia Eroge," He spoke the words aloud.
The words "Xianxia Eroge" stood out on several screens, along with the logo of the game.
The man finally stopped typing when he heard the words, his fingers hovering above the keyboard. He looked up, his piercing gaze locking onto Liam's.
"Weren't you so confident in your skills at conquering ladies in the game?"
Slowly, the man turned to face Liam, who stood motionless, still staring at the words on the screens.
"You… you're the bastard mysterious_shadow!" Liam suddenly shouted, clenching his fists as he glared at the man, his brain finally link everything.
He wasn't mistaken, this was surely mysterious_shadow and the man behind the scene of all these happening to him right now.
"How does it feel to be inside your favorite game, huh, Liam?" Instead of answering, mysterious_shadown continues to tease him.
"Argh!" Liam growled, his rage boiling over. "You bastard!" he yelled, charging toward him with balled fists.
But before his punch could land, he blinked—and found himself back in the same spot he had started from, as if he'd never moved.
Mysterious_shadow just remained smiling on his chair, looking at him with a mocking expression like he was looking like a kid playing around.
"Hehehe... Do you really think you can harm me with that puny strength of yours? Dream on," the teasing continues.
Where Liam stood, he was boiling within, he was trying to free himself from the mysterious power holding down in one spot.
Right now, he hates himself! for not having power, the strength to disfigure the bastard in front of him that took him into the game world forcefully without his consent.
"You're nothing but a coward," Liam spat through gritted teeth. "You toy with the weak because you fear the strong.
Mysterious_shadow only shook his head, not paying attention to the insults thrown at him.
"Don't think about trying to provoke me, Liam, it will not work, and I am not someone who has a short temper," he replied with a smile.
"You should have seen how your face was when you first arrived here. It was funny how you panicked, thinking that you were dead," Mysterious_shadow added, chuckling as if it was the funniest thing he had ever seen.
"I'll fucking kill you."
Liam glared, his eyes turning blood-red. The veins in his neck and forehead bulged, his anger threatening to erupt at any moment.
He knew that the man was mocking him, and the fact that he was powerless only made him even more furious.
Mysterious_shadow, however, didn't seem fazed. Instead, he smirked and leaned back lazily.
"And how exactly are you going to do that, Liam? You're just a weak boy," he mocked, laughing loudly.
"You should be grateful," he added, his tone turning mock-serious. "I gave you a rare opportunity—to actually become a character in Xianxia Eroge."
Mysterious_shadow sighed and stood from his chair, his arms stretched wide.
"Do you even know how many people would give anything to experience life inside a game world?" he asked, his voice taking on a more serious tone.
Liam scoffed. "And you think you did me a favor? Go to hell, you coward. I never asked to be in your stupid game."
Mysterious_shadow raised a brow, seemingly unimpressed by Liam's words.
"And you're a loser who has nothing better to do than spend all his time playing games with already inbuilt text and sex tactics," he countered.
"What about those hot women you conquered in the game?" he sneered. "You post around on your channel, smiling like a king, soaking in praises from your fans. I'm disappointed, I thought you were better than this, Liam ."
He laughed mockingly. "You can't even get beautiful ladies in real life and have fun with them. You need a game to make you feel like a winner. Pathetic indeed."
"Madafaka!" Liam roared, trying to lunge at him, but the invisible force held him in place, rendering him powerless
"I won't waste any more of my precious time on you," Mysterious_shadow said, a sly smile playing on his lips. "When you're strong enough, come and find me for revenge and additional before then, let's see how many women you can conquer within a year, two, three or even when you're stronger to stand before me."
With those final words, Liam felt his body fading, disappearing into thin air.
He clenched his fists so hard his nails dug into his palms. His entire body trembled with rage, but there was nothing he could do except watch helplessly as the room vanished before his eyes.