3 Regression

"Haaah!" Arthur sprawled on the bed, having calmed down from his initial excitement.

The familiar shout of his downstairs neighbor basically cemented the fact that he had returned to the past for him.

"Regression huh… I've read about it so many times, but experiencing it…" Arthur recalled the many web novels and comics that he had read.

Being poor, it was one of the main sources of entertainment for him. After all, even playing video games or watching shows needed money, money which he could not afford most of the times.

But the comics and novels were free.

Plus, he could read them in the little free time he got while slaving away in the many dead end jobs he worked.

"Now that I think of it… it wasn't until I got the Dream Pod that I stopped reading them." Arthur recalled as he scrolled through his phone.

After scrolling for a bit, Arthur put the phone to the side and reflected on his thoughts. His regression was a miracle, but he also knew he could not waste it. There was no chance that he would get it again after all.

'I cannot repeat my past… now that I have a second chance, I have to be the best version of myself… fulfill the dreams that were merely dreams.' Arthur had a glint of determination in his eyes.

Having set his eyes on a better future, Arthur decided to familiarize himself with the world again. And what better way than to simply browse the internet for that?

Even if his memories had been refreshed, there were still a lot of things he didn't know. After all, in the past, Arthur had been busy with work all the time. It left him with little time to spend on anything else and he allowed himself to ignore the news quite a lot too.

There were quite a lot of pages open on his phone, most of them being novels and comics, with some being news pages.

'What happened during this time?' Arthur decided to check through the news feed.

>A second earthquake strikes Haydon City! Sixty feared dead in office collapse!

>Rayleigh University takes the top rankings in the union once more! How long will it reign supreme?

>Castle Corporation and Yamato Industries raise their stake in Starfall City; the neo-city to add three new districts?

>Just 7 days left to the launch of Morpheus Online, will Hypnotek deliver on its promise for a fully immersive VRMMORPG?

>Dream Pod sales up by 230% as the launch of Morpheus Online nears!

>The Third Skytrain Line reduces traffic congestion in Capital City by 12%, an unprecedented achievement under Mayor Hathaway's administration.

Reading the Headlines, Arthur collected his thoughts.

"Things seem the same, at least." He muttered, seeing the starting few lines. "Hah! Will Hypnotek deliver on its promise? It blew everyone away and became the biggest company in the world in just two years." Arthur couldn't help but laugh at seeing the fourth headline.

There were many that had doubted the company behind Morpheus Online. Though it was also reasonably so, since it didn't have any major achievement ever since its launch twenty years ago.

Though Hypnotek had contributed to the development of the Dream Pod along with several other companies. It was on the basis of this that they were able to last this long, since it had a steady stream of funds coming from its sales.

But just a couple of years ago, they had made a huge announcement about a fully immersive VRMMORPG that would be very close to reality.

This was something no one had been able to achieve, even if there were a lot of VRMMORPGs. The level of immersion was always disjointed, and while they were quite popular, they were just considered as a form of entertainment.

But Morpheus Online would change it entirely. Its launch would bring in a whole new economy that would bring forth new tycoons.

While there were several gamers that were considered wealthy, none could reach the status that Morpheus Online would bring them to.

"This time I cannot wait. I HAVE to get a dream pod and start playing Morpheus Online." Arthur knew the massive advantage he had over everyone.

If all the events would go as he had experienced them in his last life, he would be able to reach a level no one had achieved before.

"All the quests… the rewards and secrets… I know them all… if I capitalize on it, there is no way I can't be a tycoon!" Arthur smiled widely. "But first… I need to organize things. There's still the issue that I'll need to buy a Dream pod first." He took out a notebook and started jotting down things.

His first goal was to secure funds to buy the Dream Pod and not just any Dream Pod, but Dream Pod V3.

It was the latest version of the Dream Pod and was also the only version that fully supported Morpheus Online. While the older versions could also run it, the level of immersion was not the same.

Most people would only realize this difference quite later on.

'I cannot give up that advantage either… I especially need it if I am to make the most of it.' Arthur noted.

For this, the solution Arthur had was to get a loan. There was no way he would be able to afford the price of 100,000 Union Credits right now after all.

Thankfully for him, he was sent far enough in the past when he had no debt. Getting a starter loan would be simple for him.

'If I recall correctly, there was a special loan scheme for buying a Dream Pod too. Hypnotek was doing a lot to promote the game, after all. Though many still ended up getting bankrupt over it and the company made a lot by seizing their assets.' It was one of the darker aspects of getting into this career.

If one could not recoup their initial investment, they could get into deep debt.

Though Arthur knew that would never happen to him. He had far too big of an advantage to fail.