It felt like an eternity since the Dexter family went outside together. Malcolm had always been busy with work and the brothers had to study a lot to get accepted into prestigious universities. None of that mattered anymore.

Malcolm and Stephanie were still skeptical about their youngest son’s offer, but after Zayn transferred several million Credits into their bank account they had nothing left to say. It would be stupid and hypocritical to talk badly about their decisions and how bad of a financial decision it would be to invest more into Forgotten Lands after Zayn managed to become a multi-millionaire by playing Forgotten Lands for less than a week.

Malcolm handed his resignation in before they went to the nearby shopping mall, and it was visible how much more comfortable he was. The father of four felt like the world around him was brighter and more vibrant than ever. He was happy.

“What are we going to do with Natalie? I researched a bit about Forgotten Lands, and two schools have been founded already. The schools take advantage of the function to play Forgotten Lands at night, allowing students to study while they’re asleep. It’s actually pretty interesting,” Malcolm forwarded his wife a few links about threads related to Forgotten Lands.

Stephanie frowned at her husband for a moment but her expression softened.

“You want to play Forgotten Lands as well, don’t you?”

Malcolm smiled lightly, “I think so. But before that, I want to research a little bit more and start working out. Maybe, I’m a little bit old for all of this, but I’ve always wanted to pay more attention to my physique.”

He looked at his wife and smiled, “What about you? Zayn said that you don’t have to fight. You can pursue an artistic career or explore the history of the Forgotten Lands. I’ve heard a lot about the intense lore of the mysterious clans and the multitude of races within Forgotten Lands. It’s pretty exciting.”

“I…” Stephanie glanced at her children, her eyes locking on Natalie’s back.

Natalie was happily holding hands with Percy and Nicolas, who were also smiling from one ear to another.

“My priority will always be my children’s well-being. Once I know for certain that Forgotten Lands doesn’t turn them into gaming addicts, and that they take care of their health, I might join the game. But I will probably take care of Natalie in there then. Or…I don’t know. I’m not sure yet.”

Stephanie sighed deeply, her eyes traveling to her son.

“But I’m worried about Zayn. He has changed,” She nibbled on her lower lip, “He has always been mature, I know, but it’s different this time. It feels like he is desperate to make us join the game. It’s almost like his life depends on it…or our lives.”

Malcolm slowed down and stared at his wife.

“I cannot explain it well. Maybe, it’s just my instincts telling me that there is more to it…but I think he is hiding something…”

Zayn smiled wryly. His mother had never been good at whispering. Her whispers were loud enough for most people to hear.

He heard what his mother said, and he felt like he had swallowed a handful of rocks. It was not a good feeling to hide something from his family. Unfortunately, an intense burning appeared in his stomach whenever he felt like telling his family, or the world, about the Primordial Pantheon and the problems that awaited mankind.

Zayn was not sure what restrained him or how it worked, but he considered it one of the restrictions put on him for traveling through time.

There was not much Zayn could do about the restrictions that had been put on him either. It was unfortunate, but he had to live with it. All he could do was give his best to convince his family to join Forgotten Lands and train as many Players as quickly as possible.

“Do you want to eat something? We should get something fancy to celebrate today,” Zayn approached his parents with a smile.

It was time to flaunt his money. At least, a little bit. All he needed was enough money to get one of the better gaming pods. Several gaming pods, to be precise. His brothers accepted his offer to buy them a gaming pod right away. That was expected, and it worked in Zayn’s favor. He had enough money to purchase three Gaming Pods from well-established companies even after he deducted the money he had transferred to his mother.

“Fancy food!” Natalie exclaimed loudly, causing vibrant smiles to blossom on the faces of all members of the Dexter family.

“In that case, let’s go to the–...” Zayn was interrupted mid-sentence by something he saw in front of him. Someone, to be precise.

A young woman with shoulder-long black hair and large dark-blue eyes walked in front of them. She walked closer to them, and it didn’t take long for Zayn to recognize her.

‘Isn’t that Melanie?’ Zayn almost blurted aloud, barely recalling that he was not supposed to know the girl in front of them; Melanie Zetner. She was a young fashionable woman in her late teens. Most people didn’t know her because she hardly ever appeared on the news, but her family was well-known. Her parents were the owners of one of the Top 50 companies in the country.

Melanie Zetner was a Player of Forgotten Lands and she was the reason her family evolved into one of the biggest companies in the country until the world turned upside down. She led her father’s company into Forgotten Lands and transformed the organization into a large-scale workshop.

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She was one of the first Players to create a Guild on Earth once the first monsters began to invade Earth.

Zayn was deep in thought and didn’t even realize that Melanie Zetner was headed in his direction. His eyes widened slightly once he noticed it.

‘Does she recognize me from the past? Can she remember the past?’

Various thoughts flashed through his mind but before he could say something, Melanie Zetner appeared in front of him. She blocked his path, forcing him to stop in his tracks. However, what happened next was unexpected. Melanie Zetner linked arms with him and smiled vibrantly at him.

“Honey~ Why did you not wait for me? I was so lonely without you~!”

‘HMM?’

Zayn frowned at Melanie Zetner, nearly shouting at her, but something made him stop. She stared at him, however, it was not with the same familiarity as before. It was not the same as it had been in the past life. In the first place, she had never called him honey, or anything like that.

Her lips twitched and her vibrant smile turned into a pleading expression. Something was off.

‘She…cannot recall the other timeline, right?’

It didn’t seem like that was the case. However, what Zayn could tell was that something bothered her, someone, to be precise. Zayn saw three guys from the corner of his eyes. They stared at Melanie, one clicking his tongue and the others grinding their teeth.

‘A kidnapping attempt? What was that?’

Zayn slung his arm around Melanie’s waist without touching her inappropriately and smiled at her, “Sorry for leaving your side. That won’t happen again.”

The last portion was directed at the guys, who turned around to avoid suspicion. One of them glanced back, only to shudder when he made eye contact with Zayn.

He said something to his friends and they left quickly.

‘Weird.’

Once the guys left, Melanie began to tremble. Zayn retrieved his arm and smiled lightly at her.

“Are you okay?” He tried to reassure her, but he had never been good at consoling others.

“Ah-....I…I think I’m fine…now,” Her voice trembled just like the rest of her body. She was certainly not okay.

She took a few deep breaths in and out and regained her composure soon. Only then did she look at Zayn with a forced smile.

“Thank you for helping me out. These guys have been following me for the last 15 minutes. I…don’t know what they would have do–....” Her voice cracked and a tear trickled down her cheek.

“It’s fine now. They left.” Zayn stared at Melanie, trying to connect the shaky woman with the tyrannic Guild Leader of the Thorns from the past. He could suppress chuckling aloud, but it was hard to hide his smile.

Melanie stopped sobbing and looked up. Her eyes met Zayn’s and she blushed realizing that he had been staring at her.

Zayn regained his senses when he saw Melanie blushing and held out his hand, “I never met someone in such a…unique way. My name is Zayn Dexter.”

At this point, it was obvious that Melanie Zetner didn’t recall the past…or was it the future? Either way, she didn’t recall what would happen in the future, otherwise, she wouldn’t have behaved like that. She wouldn’t be crying just because three guys have been bothering her. If anything, Melanie would have beaten them black and blue.

“Oh…eh, yeah. Hah. My name is Melanie. Melanie Zetner. It was nice meeting you. Thank you very much. You saved my life!” Melanie introduced herself and thanked him over and over again. Zayn thought that her gratitude was a little bit too much, but he thought that Melanie might have been too shocked.

It was fine, either way.

He thought about asking Melanie for her contacts to keep in contact with one of mankind’s future powerhouses but recalled that his family must be waiting for him. Thinking about his parents, Zayn wondered where they were.

Melanie noticed that Zayn looked around like he was searching for someone and cleared her throat.

“Are you looking for something? I know this place well. Maybe I can help you find what you’re trying to purchase. What are you looking for?” Melanie’s cheeks reddened, “Maybe, I can help you out. That’s the least I can do to help you.”

Zayn didn’t hear Melanie well. He found his parents and siblings staring at him, Natalie was smiling at him, while Nicolas and Percy gave him a thumbs-up. They gestured to him to stay behind and left. Even his parents left him alone. They smiled proudly at him, and Zayn could swear that his father smiled even brighter than before. He was even happier that his youngest son befriended a girl than the news about his early retirement.

‘I hate you guys…’

“What do you say?” Melanie asked hesitatingly, pulling Zayn back to his little chat with Melanie.

“That sounds good.” Zayn nodded. He had been abandoned by his family just now, either way.

“Perfect!” She exclaimed, the tears in her eyes dispersing. She smiled brightly, “What are you looking for?

Zayn couldn’t quite understand how different the Melanie Zetner he knew and the young girl in front of him was, but it was not a bad thing. It was quite enjoyable to see someone he knew.

“I want to purchase a Gaming Pod for myself and my brothers. We’re playing Forgotten Lands.”

“Forgotten Lands? I play that as well!” Melanie blurted out, tugging his arm to pull him ahead, “I know the perfect place for you!”

Zayn nearly said ‘I know’ when Melanie said that she played Forgotten Lands. Fortunately, he didn’t blurt that aloud.

Melanie dragged him to a shop on the other side of the shopping mall. They talked a lot on the way, mostly about Forgotten Lands, and what they had been up to in the game. To be precise, Melanie was in charge of most of the talking. Zayn listened and said his bits.

“You’re in Emberfall? That’s pretty close to the Tower of Nature, isn’t it?” Melanie asked, her excitement spiking when she heard the name of his Beginner Village.

“It’s not that close, but I can reach it pretty quickly. The Tower of Nature is the closest starter dungeon from Emberfall though.”

Melanie’s eyes gleamed brightly.

“In that case, how about we play together tonight? I planned to dive into the Tower of Nature with my team, and we have still a slot or two left. How about it? Are you up for a dungeon raid?”