1 High-Heaven Online

"I'm home."

Ark entered the one-room apartment. He removed his shoes, washed his face and, without changing clothes, jumped into the mattress.

The room was missing an actual bed, but at least they now had two mattresses unlike before when they needed to sleep on a single mattress.

"Change your clothes off first, Ark."

"I'll do it later."

Ark grumbled under his breath.

Watching him, Anna put down the ladle and spoke loudly.

"Mr. Ichigo D Uzamaki Arkangel. Just because your senior high school is ending…"

"Aaah!"

A loud shout interrupted Anna mid-sentence. Ark glared at her with a flushed face.

"Don't use that name! We've talked about this a hundred times already!"

"What do you mean by that, Mr. Ichigo D Uzamaki Arkangel? Also, is this the way a little brother talks to his sister? My, my, the younglings these days."

Ark could only grit his teeth in anger.

Times like these would make him think his parents hated him.

They abandoned him in front of an orphanage before he was a year old. The reason wasn't anything special.

For the past two decades, the World Government's 'Project Repopulation' has caused a dramatic rise in birth rates.

Unintended births became frequent, resulting in families abandoning their 4th or 5th child.

Ark had seen enough such cases in slums.

But what really infuriated him was his name.

Ichigo D Uzamaki Arkangel

Really!?

His name was inspired by the protagonists of the 3 largest franchises from the golden era of anime.

Even if that era was 100 years ago, everyone recognized those names!

Ark couldn't forget the looks he would receive every time he told his name to others.

It was his Villain Origin Story!

"I'm leaving. Don't forget to eat your lunch and dinner. And I better not find them unfinished like yesterday." spoke Anna.

She ruffled his hair and kissed him on the forehead, only for Ark to push her away.

"Stop! What are you doing? I'm not a kid anymore."

Anna smirked. "That's strange. I recall someone who used to ask me to kiss him three times a day. It couldn't be you, could it?"

"That…" Ark understood she was teasing him, but he wasn't backing down either. "Your breath stinks. I'm worried I'll catch a skin infection from direct contact."

"What?"

Anna popped her knuckles with a 'beautiful smile'.

"Can you repeat that?"

"Don't use violence, you gorilla! This is why you are still single!"

Anna stopped her fist midway. Her eyebrows were twitching violently, but thankfully, Ark wasn't hit. The might of gorilla wasn't to be taken lightly.

"I'm leaving. Bye."

Anna left after dusting her hands.

She was only in her mid-twenties, but that wasn't stopping Ark from teasing her.

A couple of seconds later Anna returned and peeked through the door.

"That reminds me, [High-Heaven Online] is releasing today?"

"Yeah."

"Don't stay awake for too long while playing it."

After making sure Anna had left, Ark stood up with a groan.

He moved with great difficulty and removed his clothes.

"They didn't hold back today." said Ark while standing in front of the wardrobe mirror. The rundown furniture was one of the luxuries of their household, alongside the mattress.

A skinny kid with twig-like arms whose ribs were visible through his skinny body was reflected in the tinted glass.

He had sunken cheeks, cracked lips, and dirty black hair. It was the everyday appearance of a child from the slum.

Ark's gaze wandered to the black and blue marks on his limbs and stomach, which had been hiding under his uniform.

"One more day and it will finally end."

A self-deprecating chuckle left Ark's lips.

Going to a prestigious senior high school with a scholarship as a slum dweller wasn't as good as stories made it out to be.

It taught him a valuable lesson.

There was no shortage of scums at any level of society. Just because someone was born with a silver spoon didn't mean they were better.

In some ways, the privileged were more devious than those from the lowest bracket of society.

"Tsk, there is no time for this. I should prepare for [High-Heaven Online]."

Ark changed his clothes swiftly.

He took out the items hidden inside the wardrobe. The smartphone showed [3:30 PM] through its broken screen. Ancient as it was, that was the sole smartphone in the house.

As for the unopened box, Ark bought it yesterday with his 5-years' savings.

Surfing the internet, he checked the news. The online forums were all talking about the latest VRMMORPG.

[ High-Heaven Online ]

[ The latest VRMMORPG with the full-immersive dive is launching in a few hours! The wait of the century is about to end! Finally, a new era of mankind is about to begin! ]

[ Don't miss your chance. In this new world, where everyone starts from zero, anyone can achieve greatness! ]

[ Come fight battles against the mythical creatures and gods of forgotten time! A new adventure awaits you! ]

The world was going crazy over the release of High-Heaven Online.

It wasn't just a game. Calling it a 2nd reality would be more accurate.

Not only was it the first VR game with full immersive gameplay, but according to leaks from beta testers, the NPCs were more human-like than humans themselves.

Unlimited Quests, fabled maps, creative system.

The game gave players unrestricted yet systematic growth paths, allowing them to achieve the strength to crush mountains and split seas.

But if this was all, the game wouldn't have become richer than reality.

[ Time Dilation ]

[ High-Heaven Corp has succeeded in completing Time Dilation Technology ]

[ This technology has been implemented in their latest work, High-Heaven Online. It allows users to spend twice the time inside the game than reality! ]

[ A lot of companies and major organizations have shown interest in shifting into High-Heaven Online to make use of Time Dilation. ]

[ Man has conquered Time! ]

Ark ate his food while checking on the news and strategy guides for High-Heaven Online.

4:00 PM

4:30 PM

5:00 PM

6:00 PM

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The alarm roused Ark from his slumber. He had fallen asleep unknowingly.

Thankfully, he had finished the food.

If he didn't, like yesterday when he was too engrossed in creating a strategy for High-Heaven Online, he would've had to face Anna's wrath.

Licking his lips, Ark opened the box.

A white helmet with a black visor peeked through the cardboard. On it, letters painted in purple were drawn.

[ HLadder Ver 1.2 ]

The headgear was the device with which one could play [High-Heaven Online].

Version 1 series was the cheapest of all versions.

Yet Ark's heart was filled with anticipation and excitement at its mere sight.

For the past 5 years, this was the day he had been looking forward to. He hadn't blown away 10,000 credits on a whim.

Ark had resolved himself.

Thanks to the enormous benefits of Time Dilation, [High-Heaven Online] would become the 2nd world.

Ark was going to use the real-time monetary system, which would be implemented soon in [High-Heaven Online], to earn money.

It was the only way for an orphan like him to earn millions of credits.

He needed money. As much of it as possible.

Anna had been hiding the news about her terminal illness. However, Ark had been aware of it ages ago.

The cost of treatment was incomparable to his University fees.

Anna might've given up on it but Ark didn't. He would do anything to save his only family.

"There is nothing money can't solve."

Ark repeated those words in his mind.

He had been waiting for this day for years and planned meticulously.

From strategy guides to beta testers' leaks, game-dev interviews, and even mental training. Ark was fully prepared.

Wearing the headgear, Ark lay on the mattress in a comfortable position.

He could feel his heart beating loudly, ready to jump out of his chest.

"Link Start"

Ding!

[ User Detected ]

[ There are 1 Hour 19 Minutes left until the servers are online ]

[ Would you like to enter Character Creation Interface in the meantime? ]

"Yes"

Ark's surroundings crumbled. He appeared in a void with a grand temple floating in front of him.

The massive monument exuded an ancient presence.

At the center, a six-winged valkyrie was holding a golden sword.

"Welcome, challenger. I applaud your courage for fighting to protect your world…"

The valkyrie went quiet and stared at Ark in a daze.

"Handsome"

A single word left her mouth. She blushed immediately as she realized her slip of tongue.

Inside the game, Ark's body returned to the state of how he would appear in reality if he wasn't malnourished.

Though, Ark didn't put much thought into it.

'The NPCs must be programmed to appreciate a player's appearance.'

He waited for the valkyrie to recover.

"Ahem, I'm Hecate. My job is to brief you before you enter the world of Midgard." Contrary to her strict tone, her face was flushed.

She continued.

"Please choose one of the five starter classes."