"How could you do this to me? I did whatever you asked me to!" Jake said with tears in his eyes. These were not tears shed of despondency. These were tears of anger.

Welling up inside of him for years, they finally came out.

"You are just not worth keeping around anymore. You lost your value. What can I say? You are just a lost puppy, and some lost puppies don't find their owners back." a burly man in front of Jake said, laughing.

"I sacrificed all of my levels to die for you in dungeons, in expeditions! You even made me hand you the item that I found when I went to the Tiger Marsh on my own!" Jake shouted back.

"That was because you were a part of the guild. And you know that you have to contribute to the guild when you are a part of it, don't you?" the man smiled.

His smiled made Jake clench his fists. But he knew that he was no match for the behemoth before him. He was the reason that the despicable Horace could become so strong after all.

"I will get back at you. I swear to god-"

"Now, the item that you gave me, it has been very useful. In fact, it is so good that no one else can know that it exists. Do you know what that means, Jake? It means that you are in the way of the guild. Why don't you jump out of the way?" Horace interrupted.

"Wait, what are you saying? I have been so useful to you! I did everything that you asked for! And you want to kill me?" Jake was aghast. He took a step back with fear.

"Just stay here for a few moments, and it will all be painless. Oh look at that, I think that you don't need to wait anymore. Good bye, Jake. You will be far more useful to me dead than alive. It is a pity that you can't live again." Horace smiled and turned back.

Jake quickly raised his right hand.

Ten icons appeared in front of him, and his hand glided to the bottom one.

[Log Out?]

A pop up appeared before him.

Jake tapped on the pop up once more, and his character started blurring.

But before he could even open his eyes, he felt a sharp pain.

"Guess I was too late. Curse my life. Why does god have to do me like this?" Jake cursed, and then, all he could see was black.

Gasp!

Suddenly, he rose up and desperately panted. He felt like he hadn't taken a breath in years.

"I survived? Wait, where the hell am I?" Adrenaline kicked in and Jake could see where he was with clarity.

"No way. You have got to be kidding me. I... went back in time? God answered my calls?" he was overjoyed.

He jumped out of his bed and looked around. It was his old room, his old bed, and his old VMMORPG controller.

He had gone back ten years in the past! Back to when he was a twenty year old gullible young man!

"Jake! Get down here. Look at the news! Something happened! The president is announcing something!" Jake's mom shouted from the hall.

Jake's eyes welled up with tears again. In his last life, his mother, father, and brother all died early. The apocalypse and the food shortage caught up to them. Only Jake was lucky enough to get to an internment camp, where he would survive for the next nine years.

"No. I will not let that happen. I will not die like a dog this time. I will make sure that they all pay, and they will see who comes out at the top this time around." Jake smiled viciously.

He was done being nice to people. This was his turn.

He ran to the hall though, because today's announcement was going to be a big one. Jake remembered everything that happened today.

Today was the day that every single country announced that it was now a law to enter the VMMORPG: World Online. Every single currency could be translated from this world, and everything that happened in there was more important than real life!

Today was the day that lawlessness became the new rule. It was the day that they legalized the survival of the fittest.

"Today is a monumental day, citizens! We are now proud to be partners of Nova Corp. It is time for you to have a new life. It is time to take your life online. We welcome you to world online! Headsets to enter the virtual world will be provided to you. Martial law will be implemented to make sure that every one will enter the world." the president was saying on the TV.

But Jake already knew all of this. He was stuck looking at his parents, and his little brother. They were struck with shock at this announcement.

"What is going on, Jake? Is this all a joke that the internet people are making on us? When we are struggling to make ends meet and get enough money for food, why is the government stopping us from doing even that?" Jake's mom, Lydia, said with a trembling voice.

"This is not a joke mom, but do not worry. This is not going to stop us from doing anything. In fact, it is going to make us all rich beyond our dreams. But whatever you do, remember, enter the world. If it is martial law, then we will be punished for not following it." Jake said.

There had been incidents where people were even killed mercilessly for not joining the online world. It sparked a lot of debate, but the stories were crushed by the power of the massive corporations, and the governments themselves.

"World Online. Meet your maker." Jake smiled as he rushed back to his room to grab his headset. Now, time was of the essence.

Jake put on his headset and laid on on his bed. Then, he closed his eyes, and the headset turned on.

[Nova Set beta, turning on. Game selection. Which game do you choose?] a sweet voice prompted Jake to choose.

"Check new games." Jake said without hesitation.

[One new game available. World Online. Free of cost. Minimum session time mode will be introduced. Minimum session time ten hours, no limit on maximum session time.] the voice said.

"Download game and initialise process." Jake said swiftly.

[Game downloading.]

A progress bar appeared before Jake's eyes, and he could see the progress of this download. The bar sped to the end in instants, and the game opened.

[Opening World Online. Entering game! Players online: 300,450,439] the voice said.

The black scene changed, and light finally shone in this virtual world that was created.

[Create new avatar. Select username.] the voice said.

Jake paused for a moment.

He tried to enter the name Jake, but it was obviously taken a long time ago. And all the other names were taken by the people who entered first.

If he had been reborn to an earlier time, then he would try to become the first person who entered the game, but that was not the case. Now, he needed to choose a proper user name, one that made a statement.

He grinned as he thought about it.

"Shadow King." he said, barely containing his laughter.

[User name Shadow King is available. Confirm username?] the voice asked once more.

"Confirm. I just want them to feel the pain of not having their guild own this name." Jake grinned, but inside, he could not control the anger that he felt towards the guild that used him and then tossed him away.

[Choose a profession] the voice said next.

"I will choose a profession later. Just let me enter the game now." Jake said.

[Delaying profession selection. Entering game. Creating avatar with memory. Avatar created. Welcome to World Online. Tutorial will begin shortly.]

Jake was transferred into a room that had hundreds of people just sitting there, looking at each other. Maybe they were looking at the user names, maybe they were judging their competition.

Jake looked at himself, and smiled.

"So they take the avatar from the memories. But I know that they wouldn't expect a user who only remembers how he looked ten years in the future and not know." Jake chuckled as he clenched his fists.

Veins appeared on his arm. He looked much stronger than he was supposed to be. After the dawn of World Online, people understood that the stats of the real world were also carried onto the virtual game, and so many started working on their body for the first time.

Jake also started doing that five years after the game started, and the gains were being harvested by him now.

[Tutorial will begin in five seconds. Please enter the gateway to Tutorial Village.] the same voice that gave Jake the introduction appeared here.

This was the product of immense scientific and technological advancements. The most premier AI software in the world. Maria.

Nova Corp's handler of affairs, it took the rein of World Online, and became the administrator of an entire world. This was a ground breaking achievement, and many coveted Maria.

But no one was able to go against the Nova Corp, and they had to put their ambitions to the side. The Maria right now was not as capable as Jake had remembered, but it was still the state of the art in AI.

[Tutorial is now open.] Maria said.

All the people in the room disregarded everything and ran towards the gateway that appeared. This was first come first serve, and whoever went last, risked losing everything.

But Jake had no worries at all. Because he came from the future. He knew what awaited him.

The Tutorial village was all about making sure that the players would be able to get used to a virtual world. World Online was not a normal VMMORPG. It was much better. It was almost the real world, except that one could die and revive.

The senses were almost perfectly recreated, creating an experience that no other game could match. It felt like the real world in almost every aspect.

Jake waited for the crowd to thin before calmly walking into the Tutorial Village.

The sight was not what someone would normally expect from something that was supposed to be where many people would enter for the first time.

Tutorial village was not exactly a village. It was just one big training field with lush green grass. There were hundreds if not thousands of dummies just lying there.

And beyond this training field, there seemed to be a forest. No one was in the forest yet, because it was part of a later task. Jake knew exactly what the mission he had to complete was, because he already did before!

There were a few hundred people gathered around one person. This was an NPC, a Non Player Character, who was the sword master of the Tutorial Village.

"All of you are here to understand the vastness of the great world, Gaia! Take into your hands a sword from that pile, and start swinging it. Once you swing it one hundred times, you will receive your first mission." the sword master said.

With that, the people ran to the sword pile once more, and fought to get a sword first. This was an unspoken competition to finish the mission first.

And they were not wrong. Jake knew that there was a reward for completing the mission first in every batch, and there was a bigger reward for completing the first mission ever.

But he did not care for these rewards. They were useless in the bigger picture. What Jake wanted was much, much more important.

He approached the sword master and bowed.

"I am here because I want to learn under you, esteemed sword master." he said politely.

"You want to learn under me? Hahaha! When was the last time that someone asked me that? He quit half way and just did what the other did. Do you think that you have what it takes?" the sword master laughed as he looked at Jake.

"I do." Jake bowed once more.

"Then go and start your new mission. Ten thousand strikes of the sword. On a dummy. You can see there are many in this training field. Takes a long time. Let us see if you will last." the sword master said.

[Special Mission Unlocked!

Pupil of the Sword Master!

C ranked mission.

Complete Ten thousand strikes of the sword on a dummy. (0/10000)]

"Three thousand and thirty five." Jake panted as he counted one more strike that went towards his mission.

While he was overjoyed when he first got the mission, the rush of getting this special mission quickly wore off.

He was beginning to understand why someone else got this special mission but still gave up on it. It was just too hard!

One thing that World Online did so well much to the dismay of the players, was the addition of stamina. It was a hidden stat that no one knew about for the first few years, but eventually, people understood its existence.

Anyone who would do something for so long would get exhausted. And that exhaustion carried on in the virtual world.

After hammering the sword down three thousand times, Jake's arms felt like they were going to come off.

He was sweating and was ready to just collapse. But he knew that he couldn't give up. The reward of this mission was well worth doing all of this.

Around him, many others who were coming into Tutorial village looked at him with interest. Many others sneered at him.

"This guy is so stupid. Did he not read the post that the previous mission holder wrote? Ten thousand strikes to become a sword master of the tutorial village? It is just a waste of time. There will be so many NPCs that are stronger in the later cities." one person laughed at Jake.

But Jake couldn't be bothered with the words of a noob that knew nothing of this world.

Jake just clenched his sword and struck it down once more.

[Str +1]

A pop up came in front of him.

These were in abundance over the last few hours. He was upgrading his strength stat along with this mission. Continuously striking the sword had its own advantages.

But now, his hands were too sore. Jake let go of the sword and fell to the ground.

Tip, tap, tip tap.

Jake heard footsteps approaching him. Looking up, he saw that the sword master was right behind him.

Quickly rising up, he bowed his head.

"Sword master! Is there something else that you want?" he asked.

"You are very exhausted. Surprisingly, you went much further than the other boy, but you still have two thirds more to go. It is too much for you to handle. You should stop." the sword master said.

Jake was confused. He thought that the NPC would want him to continue the mission, not discard it.

"How about this. You are not strong enough to go on, I will give you a better starting mission than these other people. Why don't you take that?" the sword master said.

"I think that I can complete this mission. It is not hard. I am just taking a small rest. I will finish this mission, and learn under you." Jake said.

He understood what was happening. This was another trial. He knew the story of the lucky boy who got a special mission in the tutorial village.

And in that story, he completed all of the ten thousand strikes. So Jake also had to complete them.

Taking the sword with renewed energy, he faced the dummy and struck it with all his might. The number on the counter rose to three thousand and thirty seven.

"You seem like the right person then. I will be waiting for you when you complete the ten thousand strikes. But if you give up on the way, then I will always give you the other mission." the sword master laughed as he walked away.

Jake disregarded those words.

He already spent a little over four hours just striking a dummy with a wooden sword. He might have gotten a few stats, but that was not worth the time spent. Jake could easily get those stats in a hunting ground that he knew all about.

With the knowledge of the future, he knew exactly where to grind experience easily, where to find the best items, and what to do.

But he was willing to sacrifice all that just for this opportunity. Once he missed it, he could never come back to the tutorial village, so this was his only opportunity.

Swing!

Once again, he swung the sword to inch towards his goal.

Seven Hours Later,

Jake was on the ground, looking at the sky. His hands were bright red from all of the swinging. And next to him lay his sword.

As a wooden sword, it was already past its durability.

With cracks all over its body, it was just another swing away from being destroyed.

Jake was also in the same situation. He had overdrafted himself like never before. But when he looked at the panel, his mouth could not help but twitch up.

And above him, with bold letters, were written the words: [Special Mission Completed]

"Finally, the mission is over. I can't believe that it took so long. What kind of sadist makes an Easter egg like this?" Jake cursed.

But he knew the answer. Most of the easter eggs in this game were made by none other than Maria, the AI that controlled the game.

"You have completed the mission. I am shocked. I did not expect someone to complete the mission anytime soon. It looks like I have to reevaluate you people." the sword master appeared next to Jake mysteriously.

"The reward. May I ask for it now?" Jake's face was haggard.

"The reward? What are you talking about? You wanted to be my pupil, didn't you? There is still a long time before I give anything to you. But you are in no state to do anything. Go back and rest." the sword master said.

[Force Log Out initiated. Logging Out] a prompt came in front of Jake.

"Force Log Out? What the hell? Only an administrator level NPC can do that!" Jake was shocked. But before he could do anything about it, everything turned black.