Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
‘Strange, I can still feel.’
He sat up suddenly and looked around in a daze. His nostrils felt uncomfortable, and his limbs felt hot and weak.
‘Is this a cold?’
“Brother, I’m back!” As the door lightly opened, his sister Lin Xiaoxue entered carrying a bag. She said, “I brought you some fruits but take your medicine first.”
His mother entered through the door as well, as she gingerly patted Xiaoxue’s head and slotted a toy helmet onto Lin Jie’s bed under his sheets. She said, “Take good care of this. You are right, all roads lead to Rome. Who is to say that playing games will not help you succeed? But don’t let your dad see it. In future, you can pretend to head out for work and actually head over to Xiaoliang’s to play… No, to work.”
Lin Jie’s memories were slowly getting clearer. That fateful year, he had ended his high school education thinking that he would not pass the exam. That was also the year when the second world of the game The New Age had been released, and from then on he had decided that he would become a professional gamer.
Of course, that incident had incurred the wrath and objection of his father. After getting badly beaten up in the middle of a heated argument, Lin Jie had rebelliously decided to leave the house. He had ended up being stranded in the rain for the entire night and caught a fever.
However, his mother had withdrawn the money meant for emergencies and bought him a helmet and even helped him to cover up about going to Zheng Ziliang’s, his best friend, house to “work”.
His family relations were at its worst, until when they had unexpectedly received the notice of acceptance. It was then that his father relaxed a little after an entire month of anger.
“Mother, Xiaoxue,” Lin Jie cried as he hugged them both.
His mother laughed dotingly. “Isn’t it just a helmet? It’s a trivial thing, don’t cry.” She thought that her son was moved.
“Brother, your snot!” Xiaoxue helplessly lamented as Lin Jie rubbed against her.
“Hehe, sorry.” Lin Jie wiped off the snot from his nose and asked, “Where is dad?”
Xiaoxue wiped off the dirt on her shirt and handed a piece of tissue over to Lin Jie. She shook her head and said, “He is still angry. How can he not be angry at you leaving the house?”
“I’ll go and find dad to apologize,” said Lin Jie as he jumped off the bed past his mother’s and sister’s shocked eyes.
“Jie!”
Just as Lin Jie left the house, a well-dressed young man donning a tuxedo rushed in and threw a small box towards Lin Jie. That man, whose attire seemed a little overboard, was Lin Jie’s good friend, Zheng Ziliang.
His father, Zheng Guangming, was one of the wealthiest businessmen in the entire city and there even rumors that his company had sponsored the The New Age. Normally speaking, the heir of a wealthy man should have been partying, toying and sleeping around with women and enjoying the vices of life. Yet that guy was passionate about carrying the load of his family’s money and doing good deeds on the streets doing what was known as ‘stealing from the rich and handing it to the poor.’
“Keep this thing safe. If my dad sends people over, say nothing about having met me.” Zheng Ziliang panted, seeming as if the contents of the box were a horrifying thing.
Lin Jie was curious. Since the two of them were very close, he naturally did not care about his restrictions and opened the box straight away. It was ten bottles of exceptional nutrient serum.
That serum was light green and was luminous. The bottles were made of finely processed crystal and were likely highly expensive.
With the huge advancements in technology, the human body had been improving under the influence of various medication and genes were also getting stronger. Then, it was already considered normal that humans were able to live a long life.
The nutrient serum was a high-tech and expensive product. It would have almost had no destiny at all with a poor family like Lin Jie’s. One bottle of such a serum could replace ten days worth of food, allowing consumers to experience a lack of hunger and at the same time replenish an abundant amount of nutrients. The body would then not only not shrivel due to a lack of food, but it would also become bright and energetic and possess improved functions.
“This is a nutrient serum right? Not like you have not taken it before. Why are you so scared?”
Zheng Ziliang gestured. “Don’t even bring it up. How can that be considered as a nutrient serum? This thing tastes like sh*t! My dad said this is some special nutrient serum and he could get it only through his connections. He forced me to drink a little of it and immediately after I drank it, my whole body hurt a hell lot, as if my veins were about to pop out. I even almost went to run against the wall. After drinking this thing, you have to train like there is no tomorrow and keep surpassing your own limits. Only then it will unleash its true potential effects. Isn’t this akin to stealing my life? I can’t take this anymore. Anyhow, you keep this thing with you. You can either throw it away or sell it. I have not a single clue how my dad got this thing. That’s it, I’m leaving!”
When he was done, Zheng Ziliang left the box and ran off in a hurry.
Lin Jie simply laughed and brought the box back into his room. Then he set off to his father’s workplace to find him.
His father’s name was Lin Jiawu. He was 42 years old and was working as a construction worker at a construction site.
As Lin Jie got nearer to the site, the guilt in him got increasingly pronounced. Previously, when he left his own house for Zheng Ziliang’s and entered the New Age, it was a rather well-known incident. However, during that period, his sister was about to enroll in university and the family needed to bear the burden of two members’ education. Both parents worked very hard and yet he used his pocket money to go around freely spending it.
If his mother had not accidentally blurted out the situation in the family and wept, Lin Jie would still have not known that the family was in such a bad situation.
Under the promise given by the government to its citizens, it would only provide subsidies for one child’s studies. And Lin Jie’s sister, Lin Xiaoxue was about to become a university student. The huge tuition fees would definitely become a significant burden on a family’s finances without any government subsidies.
It was only after that did Lin Jie start to help provide for the family. Even so, the past two years had already taken a toll on his father’s body. After the family’s financial situation got better, his body would still ache so much during rainy days that he could not sleep well.
“Father, mother, sister… sorry,” Lin Jie whispered. “I admit my mistakes. This time, I want to give you the best, the most… stable life.”
Previously, when his mother and sister had gotten into an accident, it was as if something had deeply pierced through Lin Jie’s heart. In his new life, he would become selfless and shower with love only those he truly loved and cared about! In this life, he would definitely not let the road accident happen again!
Comparatively, Baili Changcheng’s betrayal seemed insignificant. Without fear, before rebirth, Lin Jie would have gathered his entire strength and asked, “Why?”
If everything could start over again, what was there that was more important than family?
At the construction site…
“Yo, Jie is here? Your father was just nagging about you.”
“Shh, stop talking nonsense, you know very well his temper.”
“Jie, it’s been hard for your dad. He’s so honest and never has he taken any shortcuts in his work. You have to sympathize with him.”
The moment he reached the site, a few of his colleagues began to talk non-stop.
His father had always kept his feelings hidden unless he could not hold it in anymore. Given so, Lin Jie’s leaving the house had definitely hurt his father to the core.
Lin Jie nodded his head politely and proceeded to the site.
“Oh? Jie you naughty brat. What made you so obedient all of a sudden?” One of the workers asked.
Lin Jiawu was carrying a clay shovel and judiciously carrying out his work. Gone were the days of him standing upright, as he could only stand with his back hunched. That sight made Lin Jie very sad. He stood in front of his father and lightly called out, “Dad.”
Lin Jiawu kept a straight face, slightly wiggled his nearly scorched lips, turned his back and continued working.
Lin Jie went in another direction and continued to call out, “Dad…”
“What?” Finally, Lin Jiawu stood up and looked calmly at his son.
That face was haggard and aged. Many people said that Lin Jie looked like his mother and did not seem to inherit any of Lin Jiawu’s genes. Whenever this happened, his mother would jokingly reply, “Give Jie another few more years to grow and he will be exactly like his dad.”
“Dad, I am here to apologize, I’m sorry,” Lin Jie said seriously, it was as if he wanted to repent for his entire life’s worth of guilt.
Lin Jiawu let out a laugh, gulped down a bottle of mineral water, let out a long sigh and sarcastically replied, “How would I not know of your temper? If your mother said I am as stubborn as a bull, then you must be a rhinoceros. Now has the rhinoceros finally gotten it?”
“Dad, I want to be frank with you. Mother…” Lin Jie stuttered and thought about revealing the truth about his mother buying the gaming set for him.
“I have already known about it since a very long time ago.” Lin Jiawu glanced at his son and gleefully continued, “I was the one who gave your mother the money. All roads lead to Rome. You are still young. Since you want to head down this path, you had better try your hardest.”
Lin Jie started tearing up. He didn’t know that his father was aware of it all along. In the previous life, he was so naive to have believed that the gaming helmet was bought by his mother without letting his father know. Little had he known that he had already received the support of his seemingly cold dad and yet he still went to hide in Zheng Ziliang’s house and avoided seeing his dad.
Between the past and present lives, the invisible ideological barrier between father and son instantly broke down and vanished. Even if crowned as the Battle Emperor, had Lin Jie not gotten the gaming helmet bought by his dad, he would not have had such an achievement! Besides, his mother and sister did not have a single complaint about his rebellious attitude.
Even years after, when Lin Jie had become rich from playing The New Age and flaunted his riches and properties in front of his family, they still cared about his health and work. His father had not praised him for his success but instead wanted to teach him to be humble and avoid going down a misled path.
However, that was a time when Lin Jie was young and hot-blooded. He had not heeded his father’s advice…
The moment he realized that he felt even more guilty and teared up even more. In this life, he decided to properly make up for his misdeeds, to properly love and care for his family! He put his heart into freeing his father, mother, and sister from such a painful life.
As for the sudden car accident, it had to be prevented! Also, after Baili Changcheng’s betrayal and all of those events came to an end, new possibilities had arisen. In this life, all sufferings had to be changed!
The love of his father was not less than that his mother’s. However, their love was a tough one. It was silent and at times hurtful. This was why when he was young, he fell out with his father, almost to the point that they became strangers living under the same roof. When one’s father aged and lost his temper, strict nature and usual energy to beat them up, one started to gloat. However, at the same time, one realized the sad reality that their father was getting old.
“Dad, I promise you that I will become successful and give you, sister and mom a good…”
“Don’t make empty promises,” Lin Jiawu said sternly as he showed Lin Jie the look that he once had whenever he was about to start nagging. He continued, “When a man makes a promise, he must make sure he can keep it. Before you achieve what you promised to, don’t talk so much! Speak only after you have attained whatever you set out to achieve.”
Lin Jie nodded his head in approval and said, “Yes, dad.”
Lin Jiawu looked at his son with a puzzled face, and immediately after, let out a laugh, “Well brat, quickly go back home. Just kidding… go and work.”
“Hehe, I’m not in a rush. Let me help you. Anyway, dad, since whatever salary you’re getting from this job is merely the minimum wage, why don’t you just slack off a little while working?”
“While working? Slack off? What do I normally teach you? One has to keep his end of the word, always…”
“I’m wrong, I’m wrong, I have heard this 800 times already.”
“Then listen to it for the 801st time, one has to keep his end of the word…”
For the entire afternoon, Lin Jie helped his dad work as he listened to him preaching for a good four hours. Those words, which he had found annoying in his previous life, were starting to resound with him. Even his dad was so surprised to the point where he tried to touch his son’s forehead to check if he had a fever.
As the father and son pair ended their work for the day, they surprisingly went to get a few cans of beer and went home for a usual dinner. However, as times passed and circumstances changed, that meal was the most heartwarming meal that Lin Jie had had. This led to Lin Jie becoming much more steadfast in his mission to protect his family.
As long as the family was present, the road ahead would shine brightly.
In the evening, Lin Jie hugged the smooth gaming helmet as his eyes almost seemed to shine brightly.
“The New Age… I am back. The Battle Emperor, Fu Sheng is back!”
That midnight was when The New Age was officially launched. Along with this news came the news that many established gaming companies had folded and the news that the world was facing a temporary shortage of electricity supply.
Countless people were waiting for the launch of the second world of the game!
At that moment, Lin Jie’s heart felt heavy. When he touched the gaming helmet, the image of his best friend betraying him with the ice cold look on his face flashed past his eyes.
The story shared by Lin Jie and Baili Changcheng started as such. At first, Lin Jie had obtained the Heritage Blade but came under attack by the three alliances—Kingdom of Glory, Mage Heavens, and Dark-robed Knights. The person who had come to Lin Jie’s rescue was none other than Baili Changcheng! It was then when the two of them formed a strong bond with each other.
Immediately after, Lin Jie found out that the leader of the three organizations was one of Baili Changcheng’s family members. He was a person who plotted to control the entire economy, and his name was Baili Xuanyuan! The two of them had fought in arms and in the game destroyed three guilds. Since then the nicknames Battle Emperor, Fu Sheng, and the King of Swords, Baili, spread afar! Everything, until the day of the War of the Gods, had ended with flaws.
“Hoo…” Lin Jie put on the helmet, cleared his thoughts and waited just like any other normal person for the game to start. However, he kept thinking about his path. His memory of the game surpassed that of normal people. Since he had been reborn, he would definitely be more glorious than in his previous life!
In his previous life, when he had first started the game, he had treaded multiple erroneous paths and even ended up working as a measly soldier for the Grand Guild before slowly becoming stronger and finally becoming the Battle Emperor. In this life, he had to take a different path!
He had to devise a path best suited for leveling up and at the same time address the regrets left behind in his previous life. Not only that but in real life, he also had to try his utmost best to improve his own health. Had he been stronger and healthier in his previous life, he would not have lost his life in the game. It seemed like the nutrient serum that Ziliang sent earlier in the day could be put to good use.
‘Ding~’
As the bright light shone, the blurry fog started to disperse, and the sky and earth started to split.
As the war started, the Guild of Light’s Paladins and Priests immediately chanted the Holy Light. The sky turned Holy clean, as brave warriors let out a war cry. The Tribe of Darkness’s Undead crawled out from the ground, dragging along a piece of bloodied meat.
The flames of war burnt on without an end! Despite seeing this scene countless times in his previous life, this was still as mind-blowing as ever!
Under the control of Lin Jie’s mind, the image started to zoom in. He could analyze all the available jobs and races and could also choose what job he wanted.
There were two opposing sides in the game – the Guild of Light and the Tribe of Darkness. Those two organizations spoke different languages, and whenever they met, there would definitely be bloodshed. Killing a member of the opposing organization would grant glory and equipment. Of course, if one disliked war, he could choose to work in a Neutral organization, such as the Goblins Trade Union and the Giants of the Mountains.
“My choice, Warrior!” Lin Jie commanded, as the system immediately removed a warrior from the battleground. The warrior looked on in a daze, as his well-built muscles blocked the secret attacks directed at him.
— ‘Is this your final decision: [Human Warrior]?’
“Yes!”
The Warrior was a job class suitable for strength-based and melee brawls. At level 10, the character could evolve into a Berserker, Weapon Specialist, Shield Specialist, Elementalist, etc.
At a command, that warrior limped off. In the land of The New Age, a sudden combination of a natural disaster, the Undead, and Demons started to spread. The commoners prayed to the gods to send their prayers to dispel the evils. As a result, the gods borrowed the bodies of humans and sent the representatives of the gods with the “invulnerability” and “growth” capabilities, which were the players themselves.
— ‘Please choose your starting talents and basic abilities. (Note: If you make a random choice, you have a chance of acquiring hidden talents and abilities).’
Several hundreds of ability icons floated in the air for players to choose.
In The New Age, players could delete their accounts and reconstruct them. This was also to provide players with the opportunity to choose their jobs, but the talents of each job could only be selected once. If a change was desired, one had to wait for a month to change their talents or their jobs.
In the previous life, starting gamers naturally thought that they would be the lucky one and ended up choosing the random talents resulting in many rubbish talents and wasted accounts. Those groups would either change their jobs or wait for an entire month before changing their talents. Only a handful of gamers had obtained the special talents, one of which was the Kingdom of Glory’s Eighteen Massacres.
Lin Jie chose the [Grip Strength Multiplier] talent and the [Fire Gun Specialist] ability.
In his previous life, he had chosen the [Ambidextrous] talent, which allowed him to wield two weapons at once. That talent allowed for a very high initial damage output and also had a high equipment requirement. However, after switching to the Berserker job after level 10, that ability would become useless. The Berserker’s specific ability had the same effect and even had an additional +15% damage increase. It was as if he was one talent down compared to other payers and that had nearly made him delete his account.
For the basic ability, he did not choose the skill most effective for warriors, the [Double Strike] and instead chose the [Fire Gun Specialist.]
Basic Skill Books could be bought at a low price. After level 5, killing monsters would spawn Skill Books. That meant that before level 5, players could only use their basic ability as their primary form of offense.
— ‘Talent and ability successfully chosen, please enter your character’s name.’
“Fu Sheng.”
— ‘This name can be used, character loading, choosing birthplace.’
‘Ding~’
— ‘You have chosen the City of Light as your birthplace.’
A ray of bright light teleported him in front of a silver-white ancient European style city. In the middle of the city was a tall tower, which was the icon of the City of Light – the Tower of Light! The City of Light’s rulers were the Priests, Paladins, and other holy job holders who held godly powers. They were situated at the forefront of the border between The New Age and the Devils. It was also one of the previous few avenues where one could come into contact with the Undead. Besides, that birthplace was directly related to the plans that Lin Jie had made.
Lin Jie looked on at the all-too-familiar sights and let out a long sigh. And then, he casually browsed through his own stats.
Fu Sheng: [Human Warrior]
Level 1
HP: 100
Mana: 30
Rage: 0 (Your attacks generate rage, which causes some of your ability casts to cost resources)
Attack: 2-5 [Grip Strength Multiplier +1]
Defense: 4
Strength: 8
Endurance: 8
Agility: 6
Wisdom: 3
Spirit: 3
Resistance: 2 (Determination affects the time under crowd control effects)
Grit: 1 (Your grit affects your offensive judgments)
Block: 0 (Starting shield causes you to gain 10% of your starting block)
Parry: 1 (Parry chance 5%)
Load: 10/35
Talent: Grip Strength Multiplier (Increases your attack by 1 point, reduces your equipment load by 5)
Ability: Fire Gun Specialist (Fire Gun-type weapons’ damage +1, Critical Hit Damage +1, Armor Ignore +1)
In The New Age, all equipment had no job restrictions. In other words, a Mage could also level up by training using an axe. However, the limitations fell under the “load.” A heavy axe would be akin to a Golden Pole at later stages of the game.
New players did not possess any starting equipment, and they had to start off attacking monsters without any weapons. Consequently, those with low attack points were bound to die.
In his previous life, Lin Jie had foolishly gone head-on against monsters with his bare fists and ended up being bitten to death by Rats multiple times before finally realizing that he could have visited the shop to buy starter items. He had truly regretted his decisions.
He teleported to the Town of Meyer, which was the town of hundreds of new players. Players could purchase starter items for 1 bronze coin each. Clothing, helmets, shoulder guards, bottom armor, boots, weapons, capes, two rings and one necklace were available. These were just enough for a new player to spend all the 10 coins given to them.
Lin Jie spent one coin on an Inferior Bronze Sword with an attack of 1-2. Should he have gone on with the selection, the price would have increased to three coins. Wielding four Inferior Bronze Swords and rushing to the doorstep, the Town of Meyer was the frontline of the land of The New Age. That was one of the areas most badly affected by epidemics and natural disasters.
That also caused the level 1 monsters in the Town of Meyer to be called, [Fear Devils], with an attack that was twice that of Rats and other monsters of the like.
“Soldiers, hold your ground!”
“Fight!”
Screams spread from the doorstep. The NPC guards fought valiantly and prevented the Fear Devils from infiltrating the town easily.
Lin Jie maneuvered past the group of guards and headed towards the outer perimeter, entering the looming plains. The surrounding Fear Devils looked on at Lin Jie with a laugh. They were neutral monsters and could not directly attack him.
“Coordinate.”
One soldier sat down on the ground handicapped. His weapon was turned back. Unless a miracle happened, he was destined to die there.
“Hello, human.” The soldier lifted his head, revealing that he was a Half-elf Warrior, and smiled. “I may die here. Please, send a message to my parents.”
‘Ding~’
— ‘Do you accept this mission? [The Warrior’s Last Wishes]?’
“No!”
Lin Jie pulled out his Inferior Bronze Sword and laughed. “I’m afraid you won’t get to say your last wishes, please find your own way back.”
He set the longsword in front of the warrior and left.
At that time, it was best not to accept the warrior’s thanks and just leave quickly. In the previous life, many players noticed that there were many of such warriors out in the wild and intelligently donated their weapons. In the end, they only received a measly amount of experience and reward, until someone discovered the secret—players needed to donate three weapons.
After donating three of his weapons to the warrior, Lin Jie held his last weapon and headed deeper, where there were more and more Fear Devils. The settings of The New Age were interesting. NPCs and monsters all obeyed the rules of real life. This also caused the accumulation of a majority of monsters before the map opened up.
Nearby, 10 Fear Devils formed a circle. Among them was a Sword Assassin wearing a tattered robe. His longsword was already broken as he tried his best to slash the surrounding Fear Devils.
He was displayed as the Anonymous Sword Artist, with a ragged kit. He was obviously cannon fodder.
Only Lin Jie knew his real name, Wind Rider Sword Saint, Carsey Meyer!
