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2024-10-29 19:42:56"Hah... what should I do today?"
My name is Highessn Harmberg, a 25-year-old living my own life. It's not a pleasant life. After graduating from school, I decided to move to the city, seeking opportunities to work and succeed.
Yes, that's how it should be, but... it has been 8 years since I graduated. And getting a job is very difficult in this advanced world; I don't have many opportunities.
Only the money from my parents helps me survive, but they also want me to succeed and support my own life.
That morning, on the 20th of the year 2089, nothing special happened. Everything was the same; my life was just that of a bored unemployed person.
My stiff legs wandered through the city, not too busy for today. But, it can be sure that in a few hours, people will fill the streets going to work.
Some of them have already started getting busy, wearing ties and neat suits for a decent life.
"It would be nice if I had a life like theirs, but right now, I'm just..."
I can only feel frustrated. I found a bench on the edge of the park, a perfect escape to release the fatigue of this life.
"If only I had a chance, I would fight for this life."
But, it's still just words. I don't know how many times I've said words to myself that success will come, but until now, I'm still a loser without a future.
Life feels boring enough; maybe only death will help me get out of this mess.
I gaze at my stiff hands. I don't know how long I can endure this. Every day, I can only hope. In the past few months, even the monthly money my parents used to send has stopped coming.
They must be very disappointed to have a child like me who can only spend money.
For 20 minutes, I contemplate there. The sudden appearance of sunlight makes my skin burn, reminding me to go home.
With a sour face, I continue to walk the city streets, staring straight at the flat asphalt with my eyes.
There's a crowd of people who seem so enthusiastic, even bringing cameras to focus on a luxurious black car.
For a moment, I was silent, waiting to see what would happen.
Clk...
The door starts to open; I squint my eyes. This makes me curious about what makes so many people enthusiastic to welcome this person.
The person in the car exits with a very charming aura; she is a blonde woman with fair skin. Her eyebrow arches are so graceful that it makes me freeze.
My heart beats fast as I look at her eyelids; there's a desire to approach her, and anyone who hinders my steps will be immediately pushed aside.
"Hah... that's just wishful thinking!"
However, it's just a hallucination. Now I only live in reality; such daydreams often happen. Perhaps when I was 20 old, I always hoped to get married soon and find a decent life, but unfortunately, it was just a dream.
I can only stare at my feet which have to keep moving endlessly until I reach my place.
A two-story apartment with a slightly outdated design, this apartment is not too suitable for living. Besides being quiet here, the building's texture is also neglected. But, I'm still comfortable because it fits my current condition, and the rent is not too expensive.
When about to climb the stairs, I see a newspaper lying on the ground.
Now information is easy to obtain; technology that makes everything easy makes newspapers useless.
I can feel the despair from this used newspaper, and I immediately pick it up intending to throw it into the trash.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
My feet continue to move until I'm in front of a trash can that would make my body feel nauseous, but it's not much different from me who has already failed.
As I look at the newspaper in my hand, my eyes spontaneously focus on the date on it.
On the 30th of August, my head contemplates it. What I read is still relevant until now. At least the newspaper shows information about what is happening now.For that reason, it's enough reason for me to change my mind. At least I want to read the contents of this newspaper, hoping for job vacancies that I can apply for.
"Hehehehe..."
Yes, even if all of that is just wishful thinking. I don't know how many times I've tried to apply for a job, and it always fails. Even if there is a vacancy, I will surely be rejected.
With a cup of coffee in hand, I sit comfortably inside the room. I spread the newspaper; I won't read all the news, only a few pieces of information that interest me will be read.
"Huah... this picture is so big..."
I am greeted by a picture of two women posing for a game; in other words, it's an advertisement for a trending game.
"The game developer really wants to promote it with so much enthusiasm!"
More than 2 million players have played the game, and many consider it the best game of this era.
At least for an unemployed person like me, this is too monotonous. A year ago, there were many games that had incredible advertisements, but now all of that is just history forgotten by many people.
I've seen new games being promoted with great fanfare too often, but in the end not selling well due to market competition.
Behind the explained advantages and excitement of the game, there is one sentence written in capital letters to emphasize something.
"For anyone who plays this game, there is a chance to win a prize of 1 million dollars!"
My chest feels tight hearing this. Yes, with that much money, surely debts and all the setbacks I am experiencing now can be overcome.
But, I'm not too sure if this is really true; not only do I surely know this. Moreover, in the first paragraph, if this game has been played by more than 2 million people worldwide, the one-million-dollar prize is likely just wishful thinking.
My body immediately leans on the chair until the creaking sound of wood echoes.
"Hah... competing with other players, do I really have a chance? Heh... don't joke, in this world, there will surely be endless difficulties!"
It's still too foolish for me to do, so I don't do it. I choose to sleep until today passes until the night comes.
"We here are disappointed in you; you shouldn't come back anymore!"
I see my mother expressing disappointment; this is not a hallucination or a dream. But... memories repeat in my dreams.
Everything turns white, and a light full of hardships directly hits my head, making my eyes slowly open again. I see the light in the room replacing everything that happened.
My heart beat non-stop at that time; the dream reminded me of this ruined life. There's no way out.
Standing firmly while panting, I then look at the newspaper still spread out, that game, the game that I keep looking at sharply.
"Right, I have to do it..."
__To Be Continued__
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Zegar's body appeared to be thrown back after receiving an attack from Highess, but here he couldn't afford to be proud; there were still many possibilities.It was clear that Zegar was still able to stand."Seriously, won't he still be able to defeat me? He must have accessories that can withstand damage, and he must still have great strength..."It was time for Zegar to bring out an item; he gulped down the contents of a purple bottle, and Highess's eyes widened at the sight.He vividly remembered that purple in this game was synonymous with poison and abnormal enhancements; in other words, it was the power to boost statistics to a certain extent."Don't tell me he just drank an item of terrifying potency? Seriously, am I not going to survive this?" he asked towards the sky which now looked bright."Be happy, during my time playing this game, I rarely act aggressively like this! I'll make you experience a real fight!" he said firmly, and Highess couldn't take it as mere words.The o
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The monsters, after hearing this, immediately assumed a defensive position. Players stood with blank faces against the monsters."Why are there still active players at this early hour?" He remembered the habit of playing games tends to make everyone forget about time; he could understand if the player was experiencing the same, forgetting everything, including sleep time.And, if he saw one player here, then his brain told him there would be three players present; if not him, then it would be either Miyoko or Zegar. However, from the imposing appearance, wearing black armor, with a cold gaze, he could be none other than Zegar.He didn't expect to meet that player here, but it would be a shame to miss the opportunity to see what that player would do.Crash...Instantly, his eyes widened; the five monsters could be defeated very easily, without much effort."Hmmm... so he truly is a highly skilled player..." Highess muttered, noticing his trembling hand for no clear reason."Relax, I am
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Highess then looked ahead and saw the atmosphere was very quiet. It was strange for him to think tat this early hour, he would encounter any players. This time was meant for relaxation, especially since today was the day the competition would end.He quickly checked the competition statistics and couldn't say anything after seeing that only a few players were present."Why is it like this? Did many players go on a killing spree yesterday because I wasn't active? But if that happened, why didn't the points of other players increase much?"Highess's points still remained at the top, while Zegar and Miyoko were still below him, with Miyoko's points not moving at all, remaining stagnant.He remembered the last time they met, wondering how it would be if they met now. Before, he wanted to be seen as a teacher, whatever kind of teacher that meant, but Miyoko was very serious about it."If she meets me, I'm sure she'll be angry..."Their parting seemed somewhat pointless. Highess easily left
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The situation became increasingly unfavorable until the shinobi began to shiver; he understood that fighting Highess one-on-one wouldn't be advantageous. So, he chose to flee instead."Oi..." Highess quickly pursued the player, unwilling to let a player who had attacked him get away so easily.He quickly attempted to chase the man, but he had to admit that his body speed wasn't good enough to catch up."Darn, if only I could have much higher speed, maybe I could catch him..." Highess grumbled, but it was futile; he still had to accept this as his defeat."Huh... that player's movements are incredibly fast; it seems I don't have many options..." As he said this, he indeed didn't have many options left; he had to let go of this incident.Returning to where the players had been, he noticed the bottles owned by the two players. After transferring, he received only 100, which was completely useless. Even hunting fairies directly would have been much better than this."Meh, I tried my best
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"No, don't do this to us..."Crash...The players who had thought they could survive had experienced a terrible event. Lately, players had been ruthlessly hunted by others, but this had become normal. It was clear they would remain targets."W-Why, why are you doing this?" asked a player who had lost his job before. His eyes begged for mercy, but a sword was already stuck in his body. It wouldn't be long until he lost consciousness."It's simple. Players like you are not needed!" replied the player, disdainfully staring at them.As the next day arrived, Highess decided to log in and see what the situation was."Huh..." He was surprised. Right before his eyes, he saw indications the situation had changed drastically. "Changes are happening so quickly. Weren't there around 100 players before? Why are there only 10 left now? Did many players engage in massacres yesterday?"He wasn't surprised by this. It was evident that all players were becoming increasingly panicked. With only three da