Ch-1: Bloodline Online

[You have completed the hidden quest, 'Bloodline Acquisition.']

"Huff... Huff," a young man bathed in blood panted heavily. His eyes shinning with immense satisfaction, despite his severe injuries.

"Finally... I almost died while completing that quest." The bloodied figure glanced around, floating in a space filled with a sea of blood and the corpses of creatures from various races, each as large as planets.

[The Akashic records have detected the completion of the Quest.]

[You have received the 'Fruit of Beginning.']

A golden apple-shaped fruit materialized before him and gently fell into his palms.

"Appraisal," He immediately used the appraisal skill to examine the hard-earned reward.

[Fruit of Beginning]

Rating: Celestial

This fruit formed during the dawn of creation holds the most powerful bloodline known to exist. The being who consumes it will awaken the only thing with a Celestial Grade Rating, a rarity unmatched by anything else in existence.

Note: Congratulations, Bai Xiao, you are the only person courageous enough to undertake and complete one of the most challenging quests in existence.

Effects: Awaken the most potent bloodline.

"Hahaha," Bai Xiao looked momentarily dazed and then burst into laughter. When he first received this quest, he was shocked to learn of its existence—a quest that bound a player to the first rank until it was completed. He accepted the challenge and faced countless obstacles, treading the path of a lone wolf as per the instruction of AKashic Records which was one of the conditions to take this quest, he had contemplated but agreed to it regardless as he was used to being alone. Even today, he had spent all his coins on items, many times he resorted to stealing from other top-ranked players, which had made him the number one target of many. He could pull off these feats because of a unique skill that allowed him to sneak on them easily, otherwise being significantly weaker than them would lead him to his death

Bai Xiao brought the fruit to his lips and took a bite. Immediately, a warm sensation enveloped his body.

[You have taken a bite out of the 'Fruit of Beginning.']

[Awakening 7%]

As Bai Xiao continued to eat the fruit, the awakening progressed with each bite.

[Awakening 25%...75%...98%]

Bai Xiao finally consumed the entire fruit.

[You have devoured the 'Fruit of Beginning.']

[Attempting to Awaken ???? Bloodline]

[Failed... Failed... Failed]

[Your body is too weak to Awaken the bloodline.]

[The Akashic record will create a new body for you.]

[A part of your soul will be stripped.]

[All stats will be reset.]

"Ahhhh," immense pain coursed through his body as he saw a white strand fly out of his body, and he felt his vision darken.

After Bai Xiao fell unconscious, a white light enveloped his body, and he disappeared.

Sometime later

"Ugh, my head feels so heavy," he mumbled. He glanced around and realized he was in an unfamiliar room, adorned with various furnishings, and a queen-sized bed.

"Where the heck am I?" he muttered, feeling somewhat disoriented. He glanced at his own body in surprise, finding that the scars from countless battles he'd fought had disappeared, leaving his skin a milky white.

"Huh, this must be the new body the Akashic records created for me," he mumbled, recalling the message he'd received. He then walked up to a large mirror inside the room and looked at his reflection in shock

"Huh, is this really me?" His eyes widened in disbelief when he saw his current appearance. If his previous look could be described as below average due to the countless challenges he'd faced, this new form could only be described as divine. He appeared to be about 16 years old now, a stark contrast to his previous body in its 30s. His rough and smelly black hair had been replaced by beautiful, smooth, silky silver hair. Bai Xiao's red eyes looked far more intimidating than his previous brown ones, and his face radiated such beauty that even the most beautiful goddess would pale in comparison. The scars that once marred his skin had been replaced with a milky smooth surface devoid of blemishes. In contrast to his previous bulkiness, his current body was perfectly proportioned, with dense muscles hinting at great power contained within. It seemed as though the goddess of beauty herself had created it with utmost attention to detail, ensuring it would even drive the holiest women to lust after it.

[ You have gained access to the in-game media platform ]

This caused him to frown, he had already access to the media platform, so why did it say that he gained access to it again, Bai Xiao opened the in-game media platform and my face turned a bit shocked as the number of channels was very low compared to what he had seen 

[Chronicle of Gaming - Subscribers: 1,129,351]

He opened the most famous channel and he was shocked it had only about a million subscribers compared to the billions of subscribers he last saw, he shoved the doubts for know and opened the channel

''World's first, highly anticipated VRMMORPG Bloodline Online is going to open the servers for all the people in a few minutes!'' A female middle-aged News Anchor said with an excited face

A middle-aged man next to her smiled and continued, ''Bloodline Online. The game, which has been teased for over 5 years, is finally opening its servers. The World will definitely enter the new era of VR games!''

" Yes, the game has already outshined Hollywood and any other sports in terms of popularity," the female said with excitement

" Yep the beta players who belonged to the great families have already played the game and told that it was like that it was a new different world, even I am jealous of them " said the male

" They spent countless of money to buy the beta servers quota, so there is no use being envious," said the female

" The creators are keeping their identity a secret. Any guesses on who they might be?" the curious female anchor inquired.

"Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe only the top families know, it appeared mysteriously on the server and the way to create VR capsules was sent to the servers as well. Maybe the government or big families know," the man replied, giving a nonchalant shrug.

"By the way, people are quitting jobs to dive into the game because of the in-game currency exchange," the female anchor chimed in.

"No kidding, I heard that too. They're turning virtual coins into real-world dollars. Can't blame them, but we're waiting to know if it's a good or bad move for the world's future," the man mused, as the conversation flowed

"What in the world... Did the Akashic records just send me back in time?" He was utterly shocked when he realized he had been transported to the past. The news of beta testers entering the game was still fresh, but he quickly composed himself.

"They're treating this like a mere game," He muttered to himself. As someone from the future, he knew that this game was far more than just a game; it was a parallel world among many where the Akashic records held sway. Soon, it would make the records will arrive in Earth, disrupting the world's order. They were oblivious to the fact that the Akashic records had imparted the knowledge to create VR capsules and initiated the game, effectively granting access to another world where the Akashic records already existed, all to prepare them for the upcoming changes in their real world.

"But why can I log into the game and where the hell is this place?" He pondered, puzzled by his early access, considering the servers were not yet online and eyed his unfamiliar surroundings in confusion 

[ Ding ]

[ You are in the waiting lobby ]

[ You will be teleported to the tutorial lobby ]

" Huh" Bai Xiao's eyes widened when he saw this the waiting lobby and before he could even react he disappeared from the room in a flash

"Ugh," Bai Xiao groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and gripping his head with both hands. The pain felt like a thousand knives jabbing into his skull all at once.

Finally, the agony subsided, and Bai Xiao cautiously opened his eyes. He found himself standing on a vast, grassy plain, surrounded by a throng of people who looked just as confused, but instead of being frightened, their eyes were filled with excitement.

As he surveyed the crowd, Bai Xiao saw that everyone around him was dressed in modern clothing from Earth. When he looked down at his own body, he saw he was wearing a loose black t-shirt, white joggers, and a pair of white sneakers.

"Hey, look, the graphics feel so realistic. Even the grass feels real," said a player in a daze.

"Yes, it seems like real life," said another player.

"This is nothing like the other VR games I've played with headsets," said another player.

"Welcome, otherworlders," a virtual figure popped out in front of them, which was the figure of a middle-aged man who looked without any form of emotion.

'This is a VR game? How am I able to interact with it without a VR Capsule? This must have something to do with the Akashic records and the fruit I consumed,' Bai Xiao thought to himself.

"People from the lower world, this is a chance for you all to gather power before your own world evolves, so please try your best to take utmost advantage of this opportunity," the emotionless voice said.

"Evolve? What is it saying?" said a player with amusement.

"Hehe, this must be the mysterious developer's way of making the game more mysterious," chuckled a young woman.

'Sigh, these idiots will know later what will happen if they treat this as a joke. Soon, the entire world structure will change,' Bai Xiao thought to himself, proceeding to ignore them. He knew this projection was created by the records to introduce unevolved players to evolved world information.

"Please listen carefully, I will pass on basic information about the power system of this world," said the emotionless virtual projection, and everyone quieted down to listen.

"Everyone in the world utilizes a special power called 'Mana.' Mana is the essence of everything. Without this, you cannot survive, and everyone who have been selected by the records to get early access will awaken it with the help of their Bloodline," the projection continued.

"Now let's talk about Bloodline. Can anyone guess what it might be? Please raise your hand," the emotionless voice asked, showing a bit of interest this time. Many hands went up, hoping to gain some benefits by pleasing the projection.

"Of course, probably everyone who has read fantasy novels or played games knows about Bloodline. It allows people to wield mana and awakens various cool abilities within a player," said a player.

"First of all, I do not understand what a player is, and you are right about Bloodline allowing the ability to wield mana. Everyone awakens their bloodline regardless of the grade, but I think you have a misconception about awakening powers," said the projection.

"Huh, doesn't bloodline awaken powerful abilities for the one who has it?" asked the same player in confusion, and most of the players who had read novels or previously played games also had the same thought as the man who asked th question. They ignored the projection's unfamiliarity with the term "player," thinking it was normal since he was an NPC.

"No, instead, the bloodline determines how powerful a skill you can learn or how easily you can break through to higher tiers. For example, a higher-ranked bloodline user can learn a better sword skill than a lower-grade bloodline user or a higher-grade bloodline may be able to use elemental power while a lower one cannot. Most of the people or races who have awakened bloodline unique skills belong to powerful families or organizations, and they are one in a billion. It is very rare for new 'Mana' Users to awaken bloodline," said the voice, and the players started to voice their dissatisfaction.

"Damn, thought I could get a cool power," said a player.

"I'm gonna complain on the forum," said another player.

"Silence," the projection's voice boomed, and they stopped shouting.

"You mentioned grades, can you elaborate?" asked an attentive player.

"Hmm, grades are assigned to your bloodline, which will determine your future success. If you have a low grade, then your future accomplishments will be limited, and you can only blame your luck and low potential. As I said, only a few awaken special powers, but there is even one rare group, maybe one in a trillion, which is named bloodlines, and they have no ceiling on how strong they can become," the projection said. Many were excited when they heard the last sentence and prayed to be lucky enough to awaken a named bloodline, hoping to become famous and rich through the game. Bai Xiao watched in silence and shook his head, knowing many would perish in the future. He had no sympathy and no plans to help anyone. It might be selfish, but he had seen many things and knew that only the strong survive.

"Alright, now you will be teleported to the planet 'Sinthara,' which is an evolved world, and you will learn about your bloodline grade and more about the world after you start exploring," the emotionless voice said, and the next moment, everyone vanished from their place.