2026-02-09 07:56:42Alex hesitated. “Uh… the competition starts in three days,” he said.
Michael’s eyes narrowed. He wasn’t sure if joining this game was the right decision.
But he had no choice. The hype around the game was massive, and maybe—just maybe—he could get lucky and win something.
“And the cash prize?” Michael asked.
Alex hesitated again. “I’m not completely sure,” he said. “It might just be a rumor. The government hasn’t said anything official yet. But I heard that about thirty thousand dollars will be shared among the top ten players after two weeks.”
“Our school is supporting it too,” Alex continued. “They say it helps improve brain performance. But it’s only for people fifteen and above.”
Michael glanced at Maya. She sat curled in a corner, her eyes red from crying.
He walked over and knelt beside her. “You’re not hurt, right?” he asked softly.
Maya wiped her tears. “Yeah… I’m okay,” she whispered.
Michael placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I’ll find a way to take care of us,” he said. “Don’t worry about the game. You’re not old enough anyway. I’ll try it with Alex first, alright?”
Maya nodded slowly. “Okay…”
Michael forced a small smile. “Now go break my savings box and find something good to eat. I’ll be back soon. Alex and I need to go out for a while.”
Maya’s eyes widened in surprise. The savings box was something Michael guarded carefully. He often chose to go hungry just to save money.
Before she could protest, Michael turned and walked out of the house with Alex, leaving her standing there in shock.
Outside the old house, Michael looked at Alex. “So… how do we register?”
“Easy,” Alex said. “Any cyber café nearby. The government is sponsoring everything. Once you register, your game cabinet will be delivered to your address within twenty-four hours.”
They walked quickly through the streets.
Soon, they arrived at a crowded cyber café.
“Are you here for Elyria?” a young attendant asked as they entered.
“Yeah,” Alex replied. “My friend wants to register.”
“Use computer 167,” she said, pointing toward a row of machines.
As they walked over, Michael whispered, “How did she know?”
Alex chuckled. “Look around. The number of people coming here today is like fifty times normal. Most of them are our age. Everyone’s here for Elyria.”
Michael sat down at the assigned computer.
The registration page was simple. Name. Age. Address.
“That’s it?” he muttered in disbelief.
Still, he filled everything out and submitted the form.
It was free, so he and Alex left the café shortly after.
On the way home, Alex asked, “If you win… what will you do with the prize money?”
Michael shrugged. “I haven’t even started yet. I don’t know how the game works.”
Alex nodded. “Only rich adults were allowed to test it during the first two weeks. High-status people. Then suddenly, they made it free for everyone.”
He lowered his voice. “And people are saying it’s not just a game. They say it feels like another world.”
Michael frowned. “I’m only playing for the money,” he said firmly.
When they got home, Maya was already asleep. Michael covered her with a blanket and motioned for Alex to stay quiet.
He lay down on the couch, staring at the ceiling.
The thought of his sister starving without complaining hurt more than anything. He wanted money, real money, something that could finally change their lives.
The next morning, Michael woke up and rubbed his eyes.
Alex was still sleeping beside him.
Michael stretched and walked to the front door, hoping to get some fresh air.
But when he opened it, he froze.
Two boxes sat neatly outside.
On top of each box, the word ELYRIA was printed in bold letters.
Michael quickly brought them inside. One box had his name written on it.
He opened it and found a wristband and a small note.
NOTE: Once worn, this band bonds to the user and connects the brain and body to Elyria. Each band can only be owned by one person.
Michael frowned. “How does this even work?” he muttered.
Curious, he put the band on.
A voice suddenly echoed inside his head.
“Synchronizing.”
A sharp pain shot through his skull.
Everything went black.
When Michael opened his eyes again, he gasped.
He stood in a massive city filled with towering buildings and crowded streets. People walked around laughing and talking as if nothing was strange.
He rushed to a nearby window and stared at his reflection.
He looked exactly the same as in real life.
“This… feels real,” he whispered, pinching himself. The pain was sharp.
A mechanical voice spoke in his mind.
“Welcome to ELYRIA. As you are not native to this world, you have been transported to Elyria’s First Terminal. Please choose a username.”
Michael hesitated. “Ageless,” he said quietly.
Initializing…
Name: Ageless
Age: 16
Level: 0
Ability: Unknown
The information appeared directly in his thoughts.
Before he could react, a loud roar shook the city.
People screamed and ran.
Michael turned and saw a massive monster charging toward the gates. It looked like a giant werewolf with two long spiked tails. Its eyes glowed red as it crushed buildings beneath its feet.
Panic spread everywhere.
“This… this is insane!” Michael shouted.
The creature moved closer.
Michael turned and ran.
“Log me out!” he screamed. “Hey—whatever this band is—log me out now!”
A cold voice replied.
“Logout unavailable. You must reach a teleportation portal before exiting.”
Michael’s heart sank.
“Damn it!” he screamed as he ran for his life.
Previous Chapter
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187.
The explosion swallowed the battlefield.For several seconds, nobody could see anything.Dust and shattered stone filled the valley, while the protective barriers around the arena flickered dangerously beneath the force of the collision.Then something changed.The darkness came first.It spread from the centre of the battlefield in complete silence, swallowing the dust, the broken ground and even the light around it.One of the older cultivators slowly stood."What is that?"Nobody answered.The darkness continued expanding until the entire valley seemed to have fallen into night.Even the sky above them appeared dim.Inside that darkness, Micheal stood alone.His golden sword had disappeared.His entire body was surrounded by black shadows that moved like living creatures, wrapping around his arms, legs and shoulders before slowly spreading across the battlefield.But there was something else.Something far more terrifying.The aura coming from Micheal had changed.It was no longer
186.
The dark aura surrounding Jack suddenly became heavier.It rolled across the battlefield like smoke, crawling over his arms and shoulders before gathering around his body in thick strands.Micheal watched carefully.Whatever Jack had been holding back was finally coming out.The spectators felt it too.The conversations around the arena gradually died until the entire valley became almost completely silent.Jack lowered his body slightly.Then he disappeared.Micheal's eyes sharpened.He swung his sword.CLANG!Jack's fist collided with the flat of the golden blade, and the force of the impact pushed Micheal several metres backward.Before Micheal could stabilize himself, Jack was already there again.A second punch came toward his chest.Micheal twisted aside.The fist missed him by a narrow margin, but the pressure behind it still tore through his clothes and left a shallow wound across his side.Micheal immediately retaliated.His golden sword swept horizontally toward Jack's neck.
185.
The decision to move the fight outside Central City had been made almost immediately.There was simply no arena inside the city capable of withstanding a battle between two high-tier Platinum cultivators.Even the largest stadiums in Central City had their limits, and nobody wanted to discover what would happen if Micheal and Jack decided to stop holding back in the middle of a populated area.So a special battlefield was prepared several hundred kilometres outside the city.It was an enormous artificial valley surrounded by mountains, with layers of reinforced barriers installed around the perimeter. The ground itself had been strengthened using materials capable of resisting attacks from Platinum-level cultivators, while several observation platforms had been constructed high above the battlefield for spectators.Even then, nobody could guarantee that the barriers would survive.Three days later, the valley was packed.People had travelled from different regions of Elyria just to wi
184. HIGH TIER.
A year was a long time.Long enough for people to forget how weak Green Winners had once been.The guild that had once struggled to survive against established organizations had become something entirely different.Its headquarters had expanded several times, new training grounds had been built around the original compound, and the guild's name had become familiar throughout the higher ranks of Elyria.Green Winners no longer needed to introduce themselves.Other guilds already knew who they were.They had fought and had won.And whenever another guild underestimated them, they usually regretted it.During that year, Green Winners had swallowed up several smaller guilds and even forced one of the established high-ranking guilds to retreat after a series of brutal clashes.Their numbers and resources had grown.Most importantly, their strongest members had grown.There were now several Gold-level cultivators within the guild, something that would have been almost impossible to imagine
183. ONE YEAR.
The Platinum demon took another step toward Micheal.The shattered street groaned beneath its weight as countless smaller demons continued pouring out of the cracks surrounding the city. Every passing second made the battlefield more chaotic. Missiles streaked across the night sky, helicopters circled overhead, and the sound of collapsing buildings mixed with the desperate cries of civilians still trapped beneath the rubble.Micheal tightened his grip on his sword.He had fought many difficult battles inside Elyria, but this was different.Every mistake here carried a real price.There was no resurrection.No second chance.The Platinum demon slowly raised its hand.Before it could move...A voice drifted calmly across the battlefield."That's enough." The voice wasn't loud.Yet somehow...Everyone heard it.The Platinum demon froze.Ryuu stopped in the middle of his swing.Even the roaring monsters instinctively turned toward the same direction.Nathan stood quietly on the roof of a d
182. BATTLE ON EARTH.
The smile on the demon's face had barely faded when the street beneath everyone's feet exploded.BOOM!Chunks of asphalt were hurled dozens of metres into the air as one crack became ten, then a hundred, spreading through the entire intersection like a spider's web.The earth shook violently.And then a series of explosions followed. Sewer covers shot into the sky, smashing through windows and crashing into nearby buildings.A deep growl echoed from below, it wasn't one voice.It was hundreds.The next moment, black claws burst through the fractured streets.One after another, creatures began climbing out of the darkness beneath the city.Some resembled enormous wolves covered in black scales, others walked on two legs with crimson skin and curved horns.Several had four arms, each ending in razor-sharp claws.Their eyes glowed with the same cold golden light.Nobody even dared to move. Even the soldiers who had arrived with heavy weapons could only stare.This wasn't an attack.It
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