Chapter 1: The Decision To Quit

System Notice:

Player "UwUE-kitten" has slain Elite boss Mutated Wolf (lvl 70) and gained 2696 exp. Level increased from 157 → 158.

Global System Notice:

Congrats to Player "UwUE-kitten" for leveling up and reaching top 100 assassins in Realmshaper III, ranking 97th.

Only 97th..?

If only I had joined Realmshaper III during beta... with my SSS rarity talent I could've easily become top 5 assassins by now. During the first six months of Realmshaper III's release, many bugs were discovered by the top players of the game. Some included spawning legendary rarity equipment and hidden exp farming glitches, allowing players to level up almost three times as fast as me when I joined 1 year after release, missing all the good opportunities.

In the late game newer players often get outcompeted by beta players for resources, falling behind on equipment and level. Many new players quit after a month of playing for this reason. I was fortunate enough to land the 1/100000 chance of unlocking an SSS rarity talent so I didn't fall behind as severely as others. But that's also because I spend 14 hours playing Realmshaper III daily...

After a whole month of deliberating on whether I should quit like other players or keep pursuing my goal of being top 5 assassins in the game, I have made up my mind now.

When I ask myself for the 426th time this month, "should I quit?" the answer is finally clear: yes. But why quit right after becoming a leaderboard player? The reason is simple. If it takes me this much effort to barely reach 97th place, I'd have to play this game until I die to even get close to top 30. With 1.7 billion daily users, and 4.3 billion existing accounts being more than half the world's population of 7.951 billion – the competition is just too fierce in Realmshaper III.

But of course, if I have to quit anyway, I'll make sure everyone remembers me. I open up the game system.

System Notice:

Player "UwUE-kitten," are you sure you want to spend 300,000 gold to make a global announcement?

 Yes No

My finger pauses on my mouse for a second, but slowly clicks "Yes" at last with a sigh.

System Notice: Please type your announcement below in under 300 characters.

"Quitting Realmshaper III. This game sucks. I spend 14 hours playing this shitty game every day and my account still sucks. If you are new to the game, please quit. It's not worth your time. I am also giving my account to a randomly selected winner who messages me in the next 10 minutes."

Global Chat:

Random Kid 1: IS THAT PLAYER CRAZY?? HE JUST REACHED TOP 100 ASSASSINS AND HE IS GIVING HIS ACCOUNT AWAY?

Random Kid 2: He is probably trolling, I'm not even gonna bother messaging him.

Random Kid 3: True, which idiot will give an account on the leaderboard with an SSS rarity talent away for no cost.

Players from all across the world begin discussing this odd announcement.

I close my computer and lean back in my chair. Though I have already made up my mind to quit this game, something in my heart still makes me feel awful about my decision. Playing Realmshaper III for almost 4 years now, it's almost like a family member to me.

I decided not to let myself dwell in my memories with the game for too long and open my computer again to select the winner.

I was expecting to see thousands of dms but instead I see..

SYSTEM WARNING:

"USER IS DETECTED TO HAVE EVIL INTENTIONS OF DESTROYING REALMSHAPER III'S REPUTATION AND ACTIONS OF DISCOURAGING THE GROWTH OF OUR GAME. USER WILL BE TELEPORTED TO THE STARTER VILLAGE IN THE GAME IN 10 SECONDS TO RE EXPERIENCE THE FUN AND WARMTH THIS GAME HAS TO OFFER."

COUNTDOWN:

10

9

8

Hahaha... You are a funny system, aren't you? Do you really think I'll believe that?

7

6

5

4

Wait, why am I actually scared for some reason?

3

2

1

0..

Haha, I knew it. Nothing would happen. Nice try though.

Wait, why am I feeling dizzy? Don't tell me I will actually get telepor....