Sota sat beside his little sister, Ayaka, in the hospital room. Her body was weak, fading away from the illness.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't afford the treatment she needed. His hands shook as he looked at her, feeling helpless.
"I'm sorry, Ayaka... I couldn't save you."
He cried for hours, wishing he could do more. His heart felt like it was breaking, but no matter how much he cried, her sister wasn't coming back. When he woke up, something was different.
The familiar scent of his old room filled the air. He blinked and looked around, confused.
The calendar on the wall caught his attention. He stared at it for a moment, his eyes widening in disbelief.
The date… it was three years ago.
A chill ran through his body. He was back in time. It took time for him to fully understand, but when it hit, his heart raced.
He had returned to the past.
He threw off the blanket and rushed to the door.
Sota's breath caught in his throat. His heart pounded as he threw off the blanket and rushed to the door.
He needed to see it for himself.
The scent of freshly cooked eggs filled the air.
At the table, a small figure was setting down plates.
Her messy ponytail. The oversized apron. The way she hummed while placing food on the table.
Sota's hands trembled.
"Ayaka…"
His voice was barely a whisper.
Ayaka turned around, blinking.
"What are you standing there for, Brother." she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Did you hit your head or something?"
Sota didn't respond.
She was alive.
She was really alive.
He took a shaky step forward.
Tears welled in his eyes, but he forced himself to smile.
"No, I just…" He swallowed.
"Breakfast smells good."
Ayaka gave him a suspicious look.
"You're acting weird." she muttered. Then she smirked.
"Are you so touched by my cooking that you forgot how to move?"
Sota let out a short laugh.
Same old Ayaka.
He pulled out a chair and sat down.
"Alright, alright. Let's eat."
They ate together.
The warmth of the food. The soft clinking of utensils.
The way Ayaka scrunched her nose when she tasted something too salty.
It felt unreal.
Back in his room, Sota sat on his bed, his mind racing.
He needed money. A lot of money.
But how?
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to dig through his memories.
Lottery? He had never bothered with it. He never paid attention to the winning numbers, let alone memorized them.
Crypto? He remembered hearing people talk about different coins skyrocketing in price. But which coin? When would it rise? When would it crash?
He had no clue. If he tried to invest, he'd probably just get scammed out of his money.
In short, he had nothing.
No hidden knowledge. No secret shortcuts. No guaranteed way to make a fortune overnight.
His heart sank. Was he really given a second chance, only to be stuck in the same situation again?
Then, it hit him.
Lord's Online.
Tomorrow was release day.
Lord's Online wasn't just a normal VRMMORPG strategy game.
It was a gold mine.
Back then, he poured thousands of hours into it.
Grinding, strategizing, competing.
He even made money from it.
But only enough for daily expenses.
Why?
Because he started too late.
He never knew people could earn real money from it.
By the time he realized, the first wave of players had already taken the biggest profits.
But this time?
He had knowledge.
He had experience.
And most importantly, he had time.
Sota grabbed his phone and opened his bank app.
As expected, he barely had anything.
Just enough to buy a VR headgear.
Before, he would've hesitated.
Spending money on something like this?
It was a waste.
But now?
It was his ticket to a new future.
Sota headed straight for the nearest store.
The line at the VR headgear section was long.
It had only just been released, and everyone was trying to get their hands on one.
He scanned the shelves quickly, looking for the cheapest one.
There it was.
It was almost out of stock.
Just one more left.
Sota grabbed it and hurried to the counter.
He paid as fast as he could, barely managing to snag the last unit.
A small sigh of relief escaped his lips.
He couldn't afford to wait any longer.
After buying the VR headgear, Sota didn't head home right away.
He stopped by his part-time job. He needed to make sure they knew he'd be absent tomorrow.
When Sota arrived home, he went straight to his room, and immediately began writing everything he could remember about the game.
He had to get it all down.
He knew that if he didn't, he might forget.
The clock ticked by, and before long, he had a long list of things written down.
The day passed by, and Sota found himself lying in bed, the VR headgear already on his head.
He was staring at the screen in front of him.
[Lord's Online - Servers Opening in 1 minute.]
…
'Everything starts here.'
[3…2…1… Servers are now open.]
[Connection established.]
[Logging in…]
[No account detected.]
[Initiating account creation process…]
[Scanning user…]
[Analyzing biometric data…]
[Synchronizing neural link…]
[Account successfully created.]
Lord's Online wasn't like other games. Every player's account was bound to their physical identity.
One account per person. No resets. No second chances.
Even if he used another VR headgear, the system would still recognize him.
[Welcome to Lord's Online.]
[Enter your player name.]
"Sato."
[Username confirmed.]
The screen shifted. He was now facing the character creation menu.
He could start with his original appearance, but there were options to modify his look. The game allowed only a 20% difference.
Not much, but enough for a change.
And gender? That was non-negotiable.
Somewhere out there, people with fine tastes were probably protesting.
Sota could already imagine the forums.
"Why can't I be a cute fox girl?!"
"This game is clearly oppressing the pioneers of creative self-expression."
"A moment of silence for the brave souls whose true selves are now locked away."
Well, too bad for them.
He made a few tweaks to his appearance. His face stayed mostly the same, just sharper.
His hair turned deep crimson red. His eyes changed to emerald green.
Before, he never paid attention to customization. Now, he felt like going for a little change.
Finally, he reached the Altar's Race selection.
[Humanoid]
[Beast]
[Insect]
[Undead]