Reborn and Returned

Chapter 1: Rebirth

Darkness, it was just... endless. There wasn't a single thought in my head, and hope? Forget it. I was just lying there, not moving a muscle. The only thing that told me I was still around was this tiny, faint bit of consciousness. Time seemed to have stopped dead in its tracks. Everything was just... still, like it was stuck forever. I mean, I shouldn't have felt anything in that darkness, but out of nowhere, this sadness and loneliness would hit me, shaking up that last little bit of awareness I had.

Then, all of a sudden, in that pitch - black darkness, my consciousness started to grow. It was like a little seed starting to sprout. I began to remember bits and pieces of things. I thought about that battle in the Holy Demon Temple. I could see myself getting hit by the Demon King's spirit - based magic. I couldn't help but wonder, did I mess up some in - game plot? Is that why I'm stuck here, unable to log off or even die? It was driving me crazy.

My consciousness felt completely paralyzed. It was as if that darkness had sucked all the energy right out of me. I lost all track of time. Hope? It was long gone. All I wanted was to wake up from this nightmare. I kept thinking, any second now, I'll open my eyes and be back in my own bed. But that never happened.

And then, out of the blue, a faint white light showed up. I stared at it, and I don't know why, but I could feel some kind of power in it. Slowly but surely, I found that I could move my consciousness a little. It was like I was taking my first steps after being bedridden for ages. I started making my way towards that light.

Finally, I reached where the light was coming from. It was this tiny hole in a big, black wall. I just thought about going through it, and all of a sudden, I flew right through.

Man, that light! It was like I'd been in a cave for years and just stepped out into the sun. I was in this place, a sanctuary. In the middle of it, there was this white angel, just standing there, looking at me. I was speechless. After being in that darkness for who knows how long, and then seeing this colorful, vivid world, even with just this one angel in front of me, I was so moved that I almost started crying. I never realized how much I hated being alone until that moment.

The angel gave me a little smile and said, “Hello, dear player. Welcome to Infinite World. Did you buy the real software?” I was so confused. I didn't know what was going on. Was I dreaming? Since I became a pro gamer, I've had all kinds of game - related dreams. But this time, I just wanted to wake up. I pinched myself, I closed my eyes and opened them real fast, but nothing changed. I was still in this strange place.

I tried everything I could think of to wake up, but nothing worked. This was really weird. Was I actually in a game? But I didn't remember starting any game. Was I having amnesia or something? I figured I should go to the hospital and get checked out. So, I said to the angel, “I want to quit the game.”

The angel just nodded, and boom, I was back in the darkness. I was shocked. Why wasn't I back in my own home? Why was I still in this black void? I couldn't feel my body, and I couldn't move it either. It was like my body had disappeared.

But then, I saw that light again. Like a lost puppy following its owner, I followed it back to the sanctuary. Looking at the angel, I was totally lost. I started to feel really scared. Was this some kind of never - ending dream that I couldn't get out of? Why was this happening to me?

In the end, I was so desperate that I just nodded to the angel and said, “Okay, I'll enter the game and see what's going on.” The angel waved its hand, and this huge piece of parchment showed up. It was the Game Agreement. Ugh, I never read these things. But as I was signing it, my eyes caught this one line: “The game company doesn't have to pay the player for any moral damage from the game.” I thought to myself, “Oh no, am I some kind of victim here? I can't even control my own mind, and I can't wake up no matter how hard I try.”

After I signed the agreement, the angel asked me to pick a game name.

“Lone Star of Heavenly Fury.”

“Sorry, that name's already taken.”

“Cold Moon Lone Star.”

“Sorry, that one's taken too.”

...

I tried over a dozen names, and every single one was already in use. I thought it was kind of funny. This had never happened in my dream - games before.

“Contend with the sky!” I said, a bit frustrated.

“Naming success. Now, we'll do a player physiological analysis...”

I'd heard about this new game rule. They figure out your game account stats based on how you are in real life. The idea is to make sure we gamers don't forget to take care of ourselves, both our bodies and our minds. When they did the scan, I didn't feel that tingly feeling like I usually do. So, I thought for sure this was a dream. But then again, how many dreams are this real? Finally, the scan was over, and the angel showed me a table. “Contending with Heaven, these are your starting in - game stats, based on your real - life body.” I looked at the table, full of numbers and stats, and I had no idea what was waiting for me in this crazy game world.

I took one look at it and burst out laughing. This has got to be a dream. I've been scanned by countless virtual reality games, and my stats were never top - notch, but check out these scan results:

Strength: 1 (initial minimum) - impacts the player's physical attack, physical defense, how much weight they can carry, and so on.

Physique: 1 (minimum) - influences the player's resistance to physical harm and viruses, total HP, HP recovery speed, and how fast they can gather Qi.

Agility: 1 (minimum) - affects the player's movement speed, hit rate, and evasion speed.

Mental Strength: 1 (minimum) - has an impact on the player's magical attacks, defense against magic and abnormal statuses, critical hit chance, and hit rate.

Five Senses Sensitivity: 1 (minimum) - determines the player's in - game perception and reflexes.

Physiological Consumption: 1 (minimum) - influences the amount of food the player needs in the game, how quickly fatigue sets in, and decides how long the player can be online each day. The lower the consumption, the longer the online time.

Explosive Power: 1 (minimum) - decides the player's explosive attacks, bonus to critical hits, and how long the hot - blooded status lasts.

The rest of the attributes are hidden.

Magic Resistance: 20% Electricity Magic Resistance, 30% Darkness Magic Resistance.

This is just hilarious. It seems like because I was so good at gaming once upon a time, I subconsciously have this self - deprecating streak. That's why I've made myself into such an extreme weakling in my dream. I mean, come on, as long as someone's a normal living person, there's no way they'd have stats this low, right?