> The elvish society's contribution to magic cannot be understated. As a race that breaths and lives mana, that prides itself more than anything about its ability to manipulate it, the magical advancements they pushed had consequences that could be felt even millenias after. And even though the thousand years war had destroyed most of their records, the little that survived was able to usher an age of prosperity that could be felt until today. As such, it only stands to reason that the magical incantations are spelt in Elvish. — Introduction to the History of Magic, by the scholars of The Holy Empire of Men.

Cling!

The lid of a capsule opened up and white cold smoke escaped. A naked tall figure, well built and blond-haired slowly stood up. His blue eyes shone with a resolute light.

Knock! Knock!

“Enter, Milia.”

A maid of short stature opened the door and looked at the barely lit room.

“Lights On,” the man whispered.

The light bulbs shone a bright green and illuminated the room.

Milia snuck into the room, her silver bangs hiding her face. She felt shy looking at the man’s half-naked body.

“Master Leo, your clothes have been readied.” She then put Leo’s clothes on a sofa facing the TV. “I’ll go and prepare lunch for you.”

“No need,” Leo said as he put on his pants. “I’ll be visiting Ryan in a short while. Just leave my clothes here and call Albert.”

“Understood, Master Leo.”

Leo wore his shirt and made his way out of the room, followed swiftly by Milian. From his usual smile, Leo’s face turned serious.

“Master Leo? Is something the matter?”

Leo paused for a second to look at Milia before bringing back his smile. “No, no problem at all.”

However, while his mouth said one thing, his mind thought another. Ryan… hope you’re alright.

He then walked through the corridor while Milia just stood dazed, looking at his back.

“Oh, no. I should call Albert immediately.”

While Milia was contacting Albert, Leo thought back to everything that happened this day.

Leo and Ryan stayed up all night preparing for Ashes of Gods’ beta release. There wasn't much information online, and the few leaks that circulated the internet they already knew. However, there was still one way to prepare for the release: Playing Demon Heart.

For months, Leo and Ryan would meet up and play Demon Heart all day. Throughout this time, they got used to the various strategies pertaining to MMOs specifically. Before, they played either single-player or fighting games. Thus, their understanding of teamwork was very lackluster.

For the full duration of their training, they watched all sorts of guides on the internet. Every time a top guild would release its walkthrough of nightmare tier dungeons, they would watch it repeatedly and analyze it. This way, they were able to slowly build up their theoretical understanding of the game. In practice, their implementation would be best described as wacky.

Knowledge that worked at the highest level of play doesn’t necessarily translate to anything useful for normal casual players. At first, Leo and Ryan didn’t even know the optimal spell rotations for their respective classes. So, focusing on high-level strategies did them more harm than good. But as time went on, their hard work paid off. By the time Ashes of Gods was about to be released, both Leo and Ryan were no longer a burden to their raiding teams, but a force to be reckoned with.

Finally, on June 26th, Leo and Ryan kept grinding with their party until 3 am before calling it a night. Leo woke up later that day in Ryan’s room at 9 o’clock. After having breakfast, they were supposed to start playing Ashes of Gods at the same time.

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However, Ryan had a headache that morning. It came out of nowhere, and Ryan’s immune system was heavily boosted by nanobots. Needless to say, Leo was worried. In this day and age, where illness barely exists, pain became a rarity.

Out of concern for his friend, Leo asked him to just rest for the day and they would play tomorrow. He then went back to his house, leaving Ryan on his bed. However, barely three hours after, he received a call from Ryan saying that he was alright. They hopped on their Dreamscape and launched Ashes of Gods. Even though they missed the release by a few hours, they were still hyped about being one of the first to test out the game.

The moment Leo entered, he was awestruck. The blade of grass tickling his feet, the cold spring breeze and the bright sun shining from a distance. Leo couldn’t believe what he saw. He never thought that such a technology was possible, but here it was. Emulating everything the real world had to offer, and even more.

The rest was history. Leo made his character, contacted Ryan, and met Shesmu in the same breath. A true to god pro player. One that he had watched the guide of, a man who by all means was an indirect teacher for him. However, he didn’t show any of the arrogance of a celebrity. In fact, he was most welcoming. Even when Ryan’s banter would turn rude, he would never take offense and just think of a clever way to get back at him.

“Where are you going, young man?”

The familiar, high pitched feminine voice stopped Leo’s wandering mind. He grumbled and turned around, prepared to face his most annoying enemy.

“Mom, I’m going to Ryan’s house.”

“I haven’t seen you since yesterday morning. Were you playing games for all that time?!” Leon’s mom’s voice turned into an even higher pitch at the end, showcasing her erupting anger.

However, Leo didn’t let her words affect his emotional state. He just looked at her calmly, even apathetically, but said nothing.

Leon’s mom stomped her right foot in anger, looked up to the ceiling, and raised her voice even higher.

“Ah! I just wish you were like your brother. Look at him! He is already a senior executive at Omega9. He is selling those games that you like so much to you and people like you. While you stay here wasting time, he is out there making money!”

At the mention of his brother, Leo bit his lips and looked down. He then looked up at his mother, his eyes resolute.

“My brother has nothing to do with anything I do. He is his own person. Mom, I’m going to Ryan’s house now. Take care of yourself.”

Leon’s mom didn’t respond, and he didn’t expect a response either. Once she entered her naggy state, there was no reasoning with her. Understanding that, Leo just walked off the main entrance and closed the door behind him. Standing next to the entrance of the garden, an old man welcomed him with a bow.

“Albert, we’re going to Ryan’s house.”

“As you wish, young master,” the thin old man replied. He was dressed in a black butler suit. His hair was grey and his face was gentle. Whenever Leo would look at him, his worries would dissipate. Albert just had that kind of healing aura around him.

“Oh, you’re not putting your Ravs on today, Albert?” Leo asked in surprise.

“Ah, I just took them off for a moment, young master. They’re in the car. Sometimes, they make my eyes itchy so I have to take them off,” Albert answered with a smile.

“I understand. Your health first, Albert.”

The two then made their way to the mansion’s parking lot where a stylized sports car stood. Violet, purple, and sky blue were the main ingredients of this masterpiece. An aerodynamic design, a slick-looking front to back, and doors that opened vertically.

“Young master.”

Albert bowed in front of Leo, waiting for him to enter. He swiftly complied. Albert entered right after and with that, they took off.

“Albert, I also left my Raveons in the car last time. Do you have them?”

“Yes, young master.”

With a dull “clitch”, a case went out from the back of the front seat. Glasses that shone with a green neon light stood on top of it. Leo picked them up and wore them, but the view in front of him didn’t change.

Leo moved next to the window and watched the scenery outside. They quickly entered the city and with it, a futuristic outlandish view greeted them. Tall skyscrapers, robots everywhere, and cars entering underground tunnels like wormholes. However, most surprising of all were the people walking around in the streets. More precisely, what was surrounding them.

Stylized clouds raining torrents, faces with hearts instead of eyes, and a myriad of different emoji-like caricature stood next to each and every person. Shops had mermaids flying from their doors to the open sky, showcasing their clothing fashion; anime characters eating a thousand different foods in front of restaurants and a thousand other fantasy-like views filled the city.

Leo looked at all of this with cold eyes. He was already used to it. This culture of extreme extravagance. However, maybe out of curiosity, he asked Albert, “Hey, Albert. What do you think of Augmented Reality, and the Raveons that boosted it? It must feel weird, living in this world where everyone shares everything to everyone.”

“Haha, young master. While I did live in a world where none of this new stuff existed, it doesn’t mean that I can’t accept it. But, what do you think, young master?”

“I think it’s fake,” Leo replied bluntly.

“Haha, young master.” Albert smiled gently. “Sometimes, people like to have those lies surround them. It makes them feel more secure.”

The rest of the journey was uneventful. Leo didn’t speak much, he just looked at the window lost in his thoughts, while Albert kept silently driving.