《Virtual Realms: Conquer the Heavens!》


 I. Quit your jobs! Lets play!

    Virtual Reality Industries, or VRI, was currently the leading virtual reality hardware development company in the market. In the past decade, VRI had mass-produced hundreds of thousands of VR hardware and earned hundreds of billions of dollars. Their products were known for being safe, durable, and easy to use. Almost all VR game developers have used VRI¡¯s hardwares as the development environment for their products. Other VR hardware companies could only look up with envy to the prestige of VRI.


    Today was the 31st of March, 2100. In a room in the VRI¡¯s main branch building, almost 50 people were seated together, facing a small platform. On top of the platform was a table curving inward with seats behind and microphones on top.


    This room was VRI¡¯s public conference hall. The people in the seated in the room were journalists and news writers. VRI¡¯s owner and president, Cain Lopez, had set this event for an announcement, and like flies, the media had flocked in interest.


    It was 9:30 am when a door near the platform opened and a group of people surrounded by black suited guards entered. The leading person was a middle-aged man with graying hair. He was none other than Cain Lopez. Following right behind him was a youth with similar facial features.


    Cain took the central seat behind the table, and the youth sat to his right. To his left was a young lady in her late twenties, assumed to be his secretary. She was carrying a thin stack of papers attached to a clipboard.


    Earlier, the crowd in the room were noisy as they discussed and tried to guess what the announcement would be. As soon as Cain and his group entered the room, the noise gradually died down.


    ¡°I thank you all for coming today on such short notice.¡±


    It was a standard opening line. The journalists and news writers focused their eyes and ears on Cain, waiting for the big announcement.


    ¡°I will get to the point and keep this short. A few weeks ago, I have formally disowned my eldest son, Lawrence. Starting today, I announce that my official successor is none other than my second son, Lemuel Lopez.¡±


    As he said that, he turned to the youth to his right and smiled ¡®warmly¡¯. Lemuel nodded at his father, then bowed to the crowd.


    Camera flashes brightened the room as the crowd burst into a frenzy. Almost none could hold themselves back to question what had happened for this sudden change.


    Almost everyone knew Lawrence Lopez. He was an honors student with high athletic ability. He was also very talented in business and management. It had been a given that he would follow his father¡¯s footsteps and become the next president of VRI.


    But, today, his own father had announced that the successor would be the younger brother. Not only that, he was also disowned.


    It didn¡¯t take long before this news spread like wildfire.


    April 1, 2100


    Vincent Santos had just woken up. He stood up mechanically and went to the bathroom to wash his face. He was living in a small apartment with a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and living room, although he rarely uses the kitchen as he eats out most of the time.


    After taking a shower and changing clothes, he left the apartment at around seven and walked to his work place. His work at a fast food store starts at eight. He didn¡¯t ride the bus to save money, and walking would just take about thirty minutes.


    When he was halfway there, he suddenly stopped, turned to face a wall and hit his head on it. He had just remembered something.


    ¡°You¡¯re fired!¡±


    His boss¡¯ words echoed in his ears. Last night, he got into a fight with a drunk customer who was trying to hit on a female co-worker. After teaching the drunkard a lesson, he was found out by his boss and scolded. When he tried to reason out the cause of his actions, the boss got mad and fired him. His co-worker apologized, but it wouldn¡¯t bring his job back.


    He walked to a different direction and arrived at a small playground for children. He sat on one of the cute animal rides then pulled out a cigarette which he placed between his lips. With mechanical movements, he took out a lighter and tried to light up the cigarette, only to find out that it was empty.


    Slightly annoyed, he threw the lighter into the distance which accidentally hit the head of one person in a group of hoodlums walking by.


    ¡°What the heck is your problem, b*tch?!¡±


    The hoodlum said as he marched into the playground followed by three others. Seeing this, Vincent only sighed and stood up. He then ignored the group and walked away to buy a lighter.


    ¡°F*cker!¡±


    Angered, the hoodlum ran toward Vincent and tried to kick his exposed back. Suddenly, Vincent turned and caught his leg then lifted it up causing him to lose his balance. The hoodlum fell on his back with a loud thud. His raised leg was pushed down to his face making his scream in agony. A popping sound was heard as his hip dislocated.


    ¡°Kill this b*tch!¡±


    The three others ran toward Vincent and threw punches and kicks at him. Vincent sighed as he dodged. He threw a punch and hit one of the attackers right on the solar plexus. He caught the arm of one who tried to punch him from behind and dislocated the arm. The last guy who threw a kick received a knee on his balls.


    ¡°Idiots.¡±


    Vincent checked their pockets and found a lighter which he used to light his cigarette.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    With just that, he walked away while slipping the lighter he took into his pocket. As he left the park and walked by the roadside, he received a phone call.


    ¡°Hello?¡±


    Hearing the voice on the other end, Vincent¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. He then took off running with a destination in mind.


    Same day¡­


    Kristine Versoza was in a bad mood. She was working in a small cafe. It was almost evening, and the customers were steadily increasing. This amount of traffic was higher than average.


    The reason was simple. It was the sign outside the store: Maid Day.


    Kristine and her fellow waitresses were required to wear an anime-themed maid cosplay uniform. This was a plan made by the eccentric owner to increase their sales.


    ¡°Kris¡­ Kris¡­ there¡¯s a weird guy outside staring at you¡­¡±


    One of Kristine¡¯s co-worker said as she pointed outside of the store with her gaze. Kristine looked outside, and there standing under a street lamp near the cafe¡¯s entrance was a man wearing a dark gray winter coat and wide-brimmed hat. He was also wearing a face mask.


    ¡°¡­Doesn¡¯t he feel hot?¡±


    It was already summer, and the nights aren¡¯t as cool as they were. Seeing the man with the strange attire, it was Kristine who started to feel hot.


    She ignored the strange man and focused on her work. Every now and then she would feel lewd gazes at her. They were, of course, from some of the customers.


    The maid outfit had a short skirt which revealed her underwear. The underwear was also part of the uniform, so there was nothing to worry about. The only problem was whenever she leans forward to clean the tables or to take orders, someone from the opposite table would try to cope a feel on her butt.


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    This infuriated her, but she kept on telling herself to cool down. The boss had promised an extra bonus to their salary for this event. If she caused a ruckus now, she might get a deduction instead.


    Hours passed by quickly and it was now closing time. The customers left with satisfied expressions. Outside, the strange man had finally disappeared.


    Kristine helped clean up the store until all the others had left. She was the last to leave. With a spare key that the owner had entrusted to her, she locked down the store and left through a back door. As she turned around, a figure appeared before her eyes. She opened her mouth to scream, but a hand blocked her mouth.


    ¡°Shh! Calm down!¡±


    The man she had seen outside earlier had appeared in the back alley behind the store. He pushed her against a wall and covered her mouth so she couldn¡¯t run away or scream.


    ¡°It¡¯s me!¡±


    Due to her panic, she didn¡¯t hear the man¡¯s word. His hand loosened a little and she took this opportunity to bite his hand. As her teeth bored into his skin, he yelped in pain and retracted his hand.


    She swung her bag and hit him right on the head causing him to stumble and fall back. With all her force she ran to the alley¡¯s exit.


    ¡°Help! Help!¡±


    Unable to gather enough force in her voice, her call for help was barely enough to alert any people outside of the alley.


    She heard footsteps quickly approaching behind her and tears started to gather in her eyes as she thought of all the horrifying things the man might do to her.


    Suddenly, someone entered through the alley¡¯s exit. She didn¡¯t get a good look at his face, but she ran straight to him and he caught her in his arms.


    ¡°Help me!¡±


    The footsteps stopped right behind her, and her shoulders shook. Was this man also with him? Did she just run into her own doom? She closed her eyes, finally given up.


    ¡°What were¡­ you doing?¡±


    She heard the out of breath voice come from in front of her and it sounded somewhat familiar. She also noticed that the he was drenched in sweat and his chest heaving up and down, trying to catch his breath.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ She just suddenly ran away.¡±


    The man behind answered, and his voice struck Kristine like a lightning bold. She finally noticed that his voice was very familiar. Slowly, she turned her head to look at the man who had chased her.


    Night of the same day¡­


    Inside a small apartment room, three figures sat in silence on the floor around a small round coffee table. One of them was Kristine who had just recovered from the shock she received earlier.


    One man was half naked. He was slightly tanned, and his body had a few scars on the back and chest. His shirt was currently hanged on a clothesline outside on the apartment¡¯s balcony. He was none other than Vincent.


    The last person was a young man with a bright smile on his face. In his hands was a wide-brimmed hat and face-mask. He was the person who stood outside Kristine¡¯s workplace and ambushed her on the alley. He was also the person who called Vincent. If the media was here, they would immediately recognize him.


    He was Lawrence Lopez, the disowned son of Cain Lopez, owner and president of VRI.


    A few weeks ago, he decided to run away from home. Although his father had invested a lot of effort in his growth, the truth was he was unhappy with his current life. He wanted freedom.


    In middle school, he attended a private school for the first time. His father wanted him to be home-tutored. Lawrence managed to change his father¡¯s mind by pleading to his mother, who in turn convinced his father.


    There, he met Kristine. They quickly became friends, and then in high school, they got to know Vincent through a minor neighborhood squabble. He was then added into their group of two and became three.


    After high school graduation, they went their separate ways. Vincent abandoned his old home to live in the city. Kristine¡¯s guardian, her aunt had married and left for another country, so she was left alone and had to earn her own money. Lawrence was the heir of a multi-billion company.


    Until he convinced his younger brother to take over for him. Lemuel had always been jealous of Lawrence. He wanted the company for himself. Lawrence knew this and used this fact to gain his freedom. With Lemuel¡¯s help, he erased the trails of his escape and gained his most wanted freedom, and Lemuel in turn became the company¡¯s successor. Both sides win. Better yet, he was even disowned by his furious father, losing all responsibilities he hold toward his family.


    ¡°I saw the news last night.¡±


    Vincent broke the silence. He looked at Lawrence with a gaze asking for an explanation.


    ¡°I ran away from home, easy as that.¡±


    ¡°The media is in an uproar, though.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about that.¡±


    Suddenly, a loud sound was heard as Kristine hit the table with her hand.


    ¡°Why did you have to suddenly appear like that!? And even in that strange appearance to boot!¡±


    ¡°I wanted to surprise you, guys! And I had to hide my identity. If someone saw me, this whole place would be flooded by the media.¡±


    Kristine could only stare at him in resentment. His reasoning was logical, and it was her who jumped to conclusions, but during that situation, it was inevitable. As if remembering something, she stared at the half-naked Vincent and fired her anger on him.


    ¡°And you! Why are you naked?!¡±


    ¡°My shirt¡¯s wet.¡±


    ¡°Why?!¡±


    ¡°I ran all the way here from the other side of the city.¡±


    ¡°Why?!¡±


    ¡°To save money.¡±


    Lawrence laughed at their exchange.


    ¡°This reminds me of the old days.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t that far in the past. It was just four years ago since we graduated.¡±


    Lawrence was still only 20 years old. He had enrolled in middle school two years earlier than his peers. This was because of his outstanding academic abilities. Vincent was 22 while Kristine would turn 22 on August this year.


    The three sat in silence, reminiscing their past.


    ¡°So, what are your plans now?¡±


    Kristine asked Lawrence. He didn¡¯t just run away without thinking, did he?


    After hearing her question, Lawrence smiled brightly and raised his chest proudly.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you ask!¡±


    He then stood up and looked at both Kristine and Lawrence.


    ¡°Quit your jobs!¡±


    His words shocked Kristine. Vincent had a blank face.


    ¡°Let¡¯s play¡­¡±


    He then raised his hand and pointed a finger straight up.


    ¡°¡­Heaven Conquerors!¡±

 II. Decisions and Preparations

    April 2, 2100


    Kristine woke up from the smell of brewed coffee, toasted bread and fried eggs. She got out of bed without fixing it or her appearance and drowsily left the bedroom.


    As she entered the living room, the first thing that she saw was Vincent sitting on the floor by the coffee table, with a cup of coffee in one hand and a news magazine on the other. Standing by the coffee table was Lawrence, setting food on the table while wearing a frilly pink apron.


    It was a bizarre sight to say the least.


    ¡°Oh, good morning!¡±


    Lawrence greeted her with a bright smile that seemed to shine like the sun. Vincent turned his head and nodded at her then went back to reading the magazine.


    Kristine remembered the events of last night. After Lawrence¡¯s announcement, she had a sudden headache. Trying to push the two out of her apartment, they knelt on the ground and begged to allow them to stay for the night. Vincent didn¡¯t want to walk back home (riding wasn¡¯t an option). Lawrence had nowhere to go. In the end, she let the two sleep in the living room.


    Now, the two acted as if they own the place.


    Exhausted by the turn of events, she ignored the two and walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to grab a glass of milk. She noticed that she was almost out of eggs and took note of it. There was an upcoming sale tomorrow night in the nearby market.


    As she returned to the living room she sat by the coffee table, in front of Vincent. He raised his eyes to look at her, then went back to reading. What the hell? Kristine didn¡¯t know what he was thinking.


    Soon, a set of plate and utensils had been placed in front of her. It was slightly cramped in the table. She had bought this coffee table instead of a normal one as she never thought of having other people to share it with.


    Lawrence sat down, and they started to eat. The room was silent except for the sound of utensils hitting the plate¡¯s surface. The fried egg was delicious, and it reminded Kristine that she had not eaten anything last night. A last piece was at the center and as she moved to take it, Vincent¡¯s fork blocked her. They had a silent battle with forks until Lawrence sliced the fried egg into two equal parts for them to share.


    ¡°So, have you made a decision?¡±


    Lawrence asked as soon as they finished eating.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with it. I¡¯ve already been fired from my job, anyway.¡±


    Vincent gave a quick answer. The two males looked at Kristine as if to devour her. This reminded her of their days in high school. She had always been the voice of reason among the trio, but the two would always team up and force her to join in their antics.


    ¡°Explain it again to me.¡±


    Lawrence had given a short description of his idea last night, but she didn¡¯t pay too much attention to it as she was already having a headache. It was still only nine in the morning, and her work shift starts at twelve. The cafe was just a ten minutes walk from her apartment, so she still had plenty of time to hear him out.


    ¡°Heaven Conquerors Online is a new VRMMO to be released next week. It¡¯s the current hype right now, and many gamers are waiting for it like there¡¯s no tomorrow. It has many new features unseen in other VRMMOs before, which I won¡¯t go into detail. The most important part is that it supports real money trading. Combine that with the game¡¯s most advertised feature, the Heaven''s Domain, we could strike it rich!¡±


    ¡°Heaven¡¯s Domain?¡±


    As she asked about the unfamiliar term, Vincent handed her the news magazine. It was opened to a page discussing about the upcoming features of the game that Lawrence mentioned.


    Heaven¡¯s Domain was a dungeon that can only be accessed by players who reached the level cap of 100. The dungeon had thousands of floors, each floor changing every time. In this dungeon, the monsters were very strong and intelligent. Only by defeating a floor¡¯s boss can the next floor be accessed and challenged. This dungeon was also filled with many hidden treasures which were rare and expensive, and could only be taken from Heaven¡¯s Domain.


    ¡°If we make it to Heaven¡¯s Domain and obtain those treasures, we can sell them to other players for a high price, and they would be willing to buy it using real money!¡±


    Kristine shook her head and rejected this idea.


    ¡°Even if we can reach the Heaven¡¯s Domain, there¡¯s no way that we can just enter it and easily obtain anything of worth. It said that the monsters there are much stronger and smarter than those outside.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a piece of cake!¡±


    She was dumbfounded with Lawrence¡¯s confidence. Vincent on the other hand was nodding his head in agreement to his words.


    ¡°I know you are a very talented individual¡­ but your skills must have a limit¡­¡±


    As she tried to deny Lawrence, he suddenly stood up and pointed at himself with his thumb.


    ¡°I am the son of Cain Lopez, the owner and president of VRI, the leading VR hardware company! I have graduated top of the entire student body in middle school and high school! I am talented in many physical sports, and I am a black belt in many forms of martial arts! Surely, I still have many more skills and talents to discover!¡±


    Kristine¡¯s mouth hung open. He had always been this way since their middle school years, filled with unbounded confidence. This was also the reason why he didn¡¯t have many friends. Also, seeing him this way while wearing a frilly apron didn¡¯t seem to match his words.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been disowned, though.¡±


    Vincent¡¯s words caused a strange smile to appear on Lawrence¡¯s face. He hid his face with his hand and made a creepy laughter.


    ¡°Kuhuhuhu¡­ It was all part of the plan.¡±


    Kristine sighed then stood up.


    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±


    She then kicked the two out of her apartment.


    There was a wide river near Kristine¡¯s apartment, and two-lane two-way road bridge crossed over it. By the grassy riverbank beneath the bridge, two figures were looking for suitable rocks to skip over the river¡¯s calm waters. They quickly found a bunch of smooth flat rocks which they then threw with practice motion, taking turns.


    ¡°Eh¡­ it¡¯s a tie.¡±


    Lawrence said after throwing the last rock. All the rocks that they made skip over the river reached the other side.


    ¡°What do we do now? This is boring.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s fight.¡±


    Vincent suggested as he threw a light jab at Lawrence, who dodged effortlessly.


    If an outsider saw the two, they would be quite shocked at the current scene. Two people were facing off under the bridge. One was a rugged-looking young man. The other was an apron-wearing smiling youth.


    Kristine forgot to retrieve her apron when she kicked the two out.


    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s fine. I also missed exchanging blows with you.¡±


    Back in high school, whenever Vincent and Lawrence were bored or had something they couldn¡¯t agree with, they would resort to having a brawl.


    "Take this!¡±


    Lawrence closed the distance between him and Vincent, then raised his right leg to do a quick front kick. Seeing this, Vincent immediately entered a defensive stance, but the kick was a feint. As soon as Lawrence¡¯s foot lifted the ground, it quickly stomped down. He twisted his body to the left. His back now facing Vincent, his left leg shot out to perform a beautiful back kick.


    Vincent wasn¡¯t slow to react. He stepped to the side, then parried the kick with his left arm. With the right arm that supported his left, he reached out to grab Lawrence¡¯s ankle. The latter quickly retracted his foot and stepped forward with it. Lawrence turned around to see Vincent dashing forward, his arms raised.


    With a burst of speed, Vincent appeared in front of Lawrence and tried to tackle him down. Lawrence didn¡¯t let Vincent do as he planned. Before Vincent could grab his waist, Lawrence placed his arms in between them and leaned forward, catching him beneath his arms.


    The two were in a deadlock for a while. After a few minutes of struggling, they separated at the same time.


    ¡°You¡¯re still as good as ever.¡±


    Lawrence complimented Vincent. Their brawls since high school had never been simple fights. Sometimes it would last for hours, and the first person to get tired would lose. As if remembering this, Vincent made a proposition.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want this to be another war of attrition. Let¡¯s settle this with our strongest blow.¡±


    ¡°You sound like a cheap ripoff from some eastern cartoon¡­ but I like the idea.¡±


    The two relaxed their breathing and focused their attention on each other. They were standing withing reach of each other, and throwing a light punch could easily hit the other one. It was like the final battle between two rivals who had competed for a long time. The stare off lasted for almost ten minutes.


    The two moved at the same time, or that was how it appeared to outsiders.


    The first to actually move was Vincent. He got a little impatient and decided to attack first. An attack almost without any precursory movements came from the right arm that had hung loosely on his side earlier.


    Lawrence knew that Vincent would grow impatient. He saw the sudden fierceness in the latter¡¯s eyes and expected an attack to come within the moment. Lawrence used his left arm to throw a punch, with motion similar to Vincent. He was ambidextrous, so the force would just be similar as if he was using his right. His right leg very slightly shifted to the side. This simple action determined victory or defeat.


    With his body slightly shifted to the right, his left arm in the inside blocked Vincent¡¯s punch which was now on the outside.


    A smile had formed on Lawrence¡¯s face, his fist had stopped a centimeter away from Vincent¡¯s face.


    ¡°I won this time.¡±


    Vincent smiled then stepped back while taking out a cigarette from his pocket. Although, he acted cool and calm, the fact was that he was agitated and frustrated inside.


    Before meeting Lawrence and Kristine, Vincent had roamed the streets and acted like any other hoodlum, mugging people and taking their things just for fun. He thought that he was the strongest, and no once could ever make him step down.


    One day, on some small neighborhood group fight, he almost got stabbed by a hidden knife. His ¡®friends¡¯ left him behind in fear of the guy with the knife. At that time, Lawrence and Kristine were passing by, and Lawrence acted to help him. Vincent felt frustrated that he needed someone to help him and challenged him to a fight, which he easily lost.


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    Since then, he would challenge Lawrence to a fight whenever they met. After the tenth fight, Lawrence invited him to hang out with them. That was how they became friends.


    This thoughts filled his head as he puffed out smoke into the air.


    ¡°You should quit that.¡±


    Lawrence reprimanded him. Seeing him with a serious look and wearing an apron, Vincent couldn¡¯t help but laugh.


    It was now afternoon. Kristine had let the two back in her apartment when they returned. She then left them as she went to work.


    In the cafe, she couldn¡¯t do her job properly as her mind was adrift, thinking about Lawrence¡¯s proposal. She had been weighing the pros and cons non-stop since earlier, but still couldn¡¯t come to a final decision.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Krissy?¡±


    One of her co-workers asked, the same person who pointed out Lawrence in his strange getup last night.


    ¡°Remember that man from last night?¡±


    ¡°The one who tried to ask you out? He was pretty cute.¡±


    She was referring to one of the customers.


    ¡°Not that. The one with the suspicious appearance standing outside the store.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Don¡¯t tell me he did something to you last night!¡±


    ¡°Well, sort of.¡±


    Her co-worker suddenly pulled her to the side, to a spot not easily seen within the store.


    ¡°Tell me what happened!¡±


    She had a strange glimmer in her eyes. Kristine remembered that this co-worker had a hobby of reading novels where the main heroine always got forced down at first, then falls in love with the man who pushed her down through the rest of the story.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing like that. He happened to be an old friend back in middle school and high school.¡±


    ¡°A reunion! Work of fate!¡±


    ¡°Enough with your delusions!¡±


    Kristine hand-chopped her head to wake her up from her daydreams.


    ¡°He invited me along with another friend to play a game called Heaven Conquerors Online.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that great?¡±


    ¡°Well, the plan was to earn money through that game, so I have to quit this job and focus on it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is he planning to start a gaming studio? If I were you, I¡¯d go ahead with it without a second thought!¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Playing a game with you old friends together. Wouldn¡¯t that be fun?¡±


    Fun. Kristine can¡¯t remember when she last had fun, maybe back in high school when they still hanged out together.


    ¡°And besides, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d be able to earn more by playing that game instead of this cafe¡¯s paltry salary. I¡¯ve read a bit about that game on a magazine, and I think it¡¯s an excellent one.¡±


    Kristine once again tried weighing the pros and cons. In the end, her co-workers words resounded in her ears. Wouldn¡¯t that be fun?


    ¡°Thanks for the advice.¡±


    ¡°Sure, no problem!¡±


    Kristine left her co-worker behind and quickly walked toward the owner¡¯s office. Before her boss could ask why she came, she declared her intent loud and clear.


    ¡°Boss, I¡¯m quitting!¡±


    A week quickly passed by. It was now the 9th. Kristine and Vincent were standing in a line outside a store that sells VR games. Today was the day of release of the game Heaven Conquerors Online.


    The line outside of the store was long. There were more than two hundred people waiting in line based on Kristine¡¯s estimate, and there were still more coming. Yesterday, the VR equipment they ordered had just arrived. Lawrence, still wearing that frilly apron handed the two of them lunch boxes and told them to go to the store to buy the game while he sets up the equipment.


    At first, she was confused. She knew that the release was on the 9th, so why had Lawrence told them to go and buy it a day before? She thought that he was too excited and mistook the date.


    When they arrived at the store, she was shocked to see that there was already a line of almost 50 people. She asked if the game was released early and they explained to her that the line would just keep on increasing, so it was better to line up now than to come tomorrow. It was part of the marketing strategy to sell the game just a few hours before the servers go online. This was to increase the sales as quickly as possible in a short span of time.


    As they waited for the store to open, Kristine remembered the events of the past week. She had quit her job. Vincent left his apartment and brought his stuff over at Kristine¡¯s. With the place now packed, they looked for a bigger place to stay that would suit their needs. They easily found a vacant single bedroom apartment with a wide living room near her place. The bedroom was for her to stay, while the two guys would use the living room.


    The cost of rent, the VR hardwares, and their initial living expenses were all handled by Lawrence. He still had a bank account with enough money to let an average single man live a comfortable life for two years. For the three of them, it was only enough for three months. Lawrence had also made another account which they would use for any transactions they will make in the game.


    The plan was to log in the game as soon as the servers go live, level up and strengthen their characters as quickly as possible. They didn¡¯t have to compete against other players nor were they aiming for prestige and glory. They were playing the game to earn money.


    And have fun at the same time, Kristine added in her thoughts.


    A bright smile appeared on her face as she imagined the days of adventuring with the other two slowly approaching.


    ¡°We will only use a single VRI wireless system server unit and router. It uses parallel processing over five processors to boost system performance even if multiple headgears were connected.¡±


    There was a big black box as big as a refrigerator with blink lights in the apartment¡¯s living room. On the floor beside it were three helmet-like objects, presumably the VR headgears.


    ¡°The initial design and prototype of this was made by me, then improved by VRI¡¯s finest engineers, so you don¡¯t have to worry about its capabilities.¡±


    Kristine and Vincent had successfully bought a copy of Heavens Conquerors Online. When they arrived at the apartment two hours ago, Lawrence quickly installed the game and started explaining(boasting) about the VR hardwares that they would use while still in the frilly apron which seemed to have become his trademark outfit.


    ¡°What¡¯s the plan for the game?¡±


    Vincent interrupted Lawrence¡¯s nonstop narration which Kristine was truly thankful for.


    ¡°For the party, you will be the vanguard. You will stay in front and be our main tank and melee DPS. For Kristine, you should chose a ranged class, since you were excellent in archery. As for the genius me, I will play be the support, although I may shift to other roles depending on what the situation needs.¡±


    Kristine chuckled when she heard that he would play support. The apron truly suited him now.


    ¡°As soon as we log in the game, our starting zones will be random, so we need to level up to ten as quickly as possible and meet up on a main city. For now, we need to decide on which names to use!¡±


    The three sat around the coffee table (which Kristine brought over, unwilling to sell it) in silence as they tried to think of names for their characters. They also ate instant noodles for lunch as they did so.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just use our names or something based on it?¡±


    Vincent didn¡¯t know why they have to think up of a name they could use other than their own.


    ¡°That¡¯s too boring.¡±


    Lawrence rejected the idea.


    ¡°How about the names of the three musketeers?¡±


    Kristine thought her idea was brilliant.


    ¡°Boring!¡±


    Rejected easily.


    ¡°Earth, Sun, Moon.¡±


    ¡°Boring! We need something with more impact!¡±


    ¡°We, Want, Money.¡±


    ¡°Vincent, can¡¯t you be a bit more creative? Rejected!¡±


    ¡°Fatso, Stinky, Stretch.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not ghosts, no!¡±


    ¡°Robin, Maurice, Barry.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not gonna sing, no!¡±


    ¡°Moe, Curly, Larry?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not comedians!¡±


    After spending thirty minutes over it, they finally agreed to just go with any name they could think of during character creation.


    It was now five minutes before the game goes live. The three had already positioned themselves with Kristine in the bedroom, Vincent on the couch, and Lawrence on a sleeping mat on the floor right beside the VR system unit after saying that being that close would increase the connection efficiency of the wireless headgear by a fraction of a millisecond.


    Lawrence knew inside information about the game which he didn¡¯t tell anyone else, like how the first person to enter the game world would receive an unknown reward. Furthermore, he also knew that the servers would actually go live five seconds before the appointed time.


    In the login screen, he was all ready to enter while watching the countdown timer. As soon as the timer hit 5 seconds, he pressed enter, and true to the inside information, he was now in the character creation screen. He didn¡¯t change the appearance of his character, which looked just like him, and instead entered the name that first entered his head.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>* * * Welcome to Heaven Conquerors Online * * *</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Congratulations!


    You are the very first player to enter the game!


    You have received a hidden class, Novice+, as a reward!</td></tr></tbody></table>


    After a few seconds, more players started appearing all over the beginner zones of the game.


    The name of the very first player to enter the game and obtain a hidden class was Majestic Conqueror. By coincidence or by fate''s design, two other players in two different zones appeared with the names Elegant Conqueror and Formidable Conqueror.