[Welcome to Endless RPG, Kibou!]

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"This world is beautiful...unlike the real world."

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'I wish I could have meals again. My parents. All I have is bread and Kibou.'

Youchi, the young boy picks up his handheld console and sets aside the bread on a dusty plate. It was given by his mother on his 7th birthday. 7 days later, she was captured and murdered.

"Kibou...we haven't levelled up in a while. Let's beat the World Serpent today."

He attempts to progress his level 35 samurai character but cannot defeat the stage boss. The game has a very unique combat system from other VMMORPGs. NPCs, enemies and bosses can dodge and block attacks. Repeatedly spamming combos is ineffective as they can quickly learn the attack pattern and dodge perfectly after a few minutes of spamming. They are also capable of swiftly or slowly turning around and defending attacks from behind. Over 100 combos are available to all players in order to outsmart the combat A.I.

Youchi was about to finish off the boss when the military force found him, "You're coming with us." He logged off the game and ran as fast he could clinching the console to his chest. His legs quickly grew weaker running through the gloomy winter night.

The real world changed after multiple nuclear wars and several changes in leadership.

"You are legally required to join the military! You fucking orphan!" The soldiers are catching up to Youchi quickly. There are no other orphans around the streets. They are all as lifeless as the broken lamposts that fill the streets.

'I wish I ate first...' Youchi thought to himself and slipped on a puddle.

The soldiers took out their rifles and shot his feet. Youchi screamed in agony as they pulled his long hair, "You'll have new legs after coming with us."

Flesh. Organs and Limbs meant nothing. All are now replaceable thanks to hundreds of years of revolutionary research. A cyborg was preferred over a weak human.

[You have been invited to join the "Afterlife Program"! Please confirm by saying 'Yes'...]

The handheld console's voice reached out to Youchi. 'What's afterlife?', Youchi thought to himself while slowly passing out due to the pain. 'Do I get more bread...then...yeah...'

The sheer volume of blood loss could not be handled by the sixteen year old Youchi and passed away.

[The world is beautiful...the bread is just one part of it]

After the death of his parents in a nuclear blast, Youchi has been protected by a baker and given home near the baker's dumpsters. He is given bread daily for he cannot be employed. That would result to multiple casualties as the authorities would swiftly find out. He finds comfort with the video game, "Endless RPG".

Youchi learned much of his knowledge and speech from the game and the baker's staff who smoke near the dumpsters.

The soldiers argue over the kid's death and the decreasing number of military units.

"You fucking kill children!"

"I didn't expect he'd die of blood loss..."

"I won't expect you'd survive either!"

Both take out their guns and silence each other. The scene left a bloody pool mirroring the nature of the real world.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

[An empty space filled with white awakens Youchi...and a large gaming console in front of him]

"I am the Game God. Pretty sad life you had."

The Game God gestured some tears but quickly smiled right after.

"Where am I?"

"My...office. I think. Well, meeting room sounds more specific and correct. This is where I meet players like you to send off into the Realm of Souls."

"I don't get it."

Youchi looked frightened and confused. A gaming console triple his weight and size was speaking to a young boy.

"Well...you will. Once you start enjoying your life as...Kibou. See ya around! I need you someday."

The Game God's expression turned serious.

Youchi spawned in the heart of a forest. It's green. It's full of trees and there seem to be no wrecked buildings or craters.

Youchi then looks at himself, "Wow! I'm a samurai." He quickly felt disappointed after learning he is back to level 1. He sits on the green grass and cries for a bit, sulking over the progress reset. He remembers the years he spent with Kibou and smiles.

Youchi played and spinned his straw hat for a bit. He also spun around in joy as his white robes entertained him.

"I'm Kibou now...a strong samurai. Samurai don't cry...they're cool and wise." Youchi vows to play the role and duty of samurai in this new world.

Suddenly, a figure behind the trees stalk Youchi. The bushes rustle and Youchi immediately readies his katana. "Show yourself evil!". Youchi thought to himself that he did a good impression of his old friend Kibou.

"Relax young one. I'm exploring the woods. You have very promising skills." A wolf hunter in yellow robes reveals himself. He has a muscular build and scratch scars all over his arms and face. He carries a shotgun and lance as his primary weapons.

Youchi walks up to the player and shakes his hand furiously, "I'm Youchi! Where am I? Who are you?"

Rudy the Wolf Hunter replies, "I'm Rudy. I protect villages from wolves. You are in the Realm of Souls."

"Realm of Souls? What's that? A new feature?", Youchi looks excited and hasn't let go of Rudy's hands. He shakes them again.

"Hmmm. I heard it's where players go after they die. You must be...a player. I am very sorry you passed away."

Youichi felt conflicted whether passing away was for the better.

"My world...isn't that nice."

"There's a lot of evil around here too."

Youchi's realization made him sad that evil is everywhere. He lets go of Rudy's hands.

"However, we can get stronger to defeat them."

Rudy reaches for the taller samurai's shoulders and pats him. He walks past Youchi but turns around when he asks a question.

"Where should I go first?"

"You can come with me to the small Kingdom of Hitotsu and register there as an adventurer."

'Adventure...It's fun roaming around the game.' Youchi followed the old man Rudy through the forest defeating some slimes, wolves and treefolk. Youchi took a long time to defeat the foes so Rudy gave him some tips in combat. 'Afterlife. It's not so bad.'

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'I'm finally in a better place. I'm going to explore a lot. Beyond the dumpsters'

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He listened to the old man despite being bored of learning about how to fight with minimal injuries. They reached the small kingdom of Hitotsu and his eyes sparkle.

[The scene changes to the Throne Room of the Kingdom of Void]

The Throne Room is only filled with darkness. All guardians and their king have night vision in order to distinguish each other in the dark. The seat is made of majestic purple fabric and golden foundations.

"A new player has emerged." A grotesque creature made up of huge brains connected together appears from the dark. The creature is known as Brainbuilder. The body figure is similar to that of a bodybuilder however there is no flesh, just brains. Its large sharp teeth resemble thousands of icicles in a cave.

"You can deal with him. I await challenging opponents. I have no time for children with swords." The Dark Lord is seated on the throne. His eyes glow bloodied red. A tall dark figure with a straw hat and golden majestic epaulettes on his shoulders. His skin as pale as ice, and his army general vest filled with gold war medals. He hides most of his vest with a black cloak and his entire figure is covered by a dark aura.

"He has skills we may extract or experiment with. 'God's pawn'."

Both of them grin.

"We will observe the new hero for now. He is currently weak. Our utmost priority would be taking down the God players and The Supremacy."

God players are recognized as players with the highest combat ability purely specializing in one affinity, race or class.

He summons the multiple screens that watch over The Realm of Souls. Youchi can be seen registering in the adventurer's guild and enjoying his first croissant.

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'This game has given me everything...the office life couldn't give me. I will destroy all threats to my hard work.'

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The Dark Lord seems annoyed of overestimating Youchi's current strength and all holographic screens fade away.

At the dark doors to the main labryinth castle of the void, another hero's party awaits their doom.

"Deal with the guests." The Dark Lord rests his head on his palm and believes all threats in this realm have been boring for the past few years. He has reigned supreme as the Number One Player for 100 years. Protected by guardians that are capable of annihilating God players and the leaderboards. He is the stronger player.