Chapter I: Returning To Exelcia Online.

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As the player who had made the Jester named Loki got off the school bus, he released a sigh of content.

Today had been his last day of school, and he had passed his junior year with exemplary grades, so he wasn't going to have to take any retakes.

He also had managed to make some more friends this year as well as get some dating experience, which was good, but at the moment, he wasn't in any relationship. However, he wasn't entirely bothered by this, and the reason why was because he considered himself to be a little bit of a realist when it came to relationships.

He believed that relationships in high school aren't meant to last, and are more for experience than anything else. Of course, he wasn't going to deny that there is a chance that you could find your one in high school, but the odds of that happening were really, really low, especially in this day and age.

Not long after he had finished sighing blissfully did the former Jester player feel an arm wrap around his neck, and was yanked into an embrace of some sorts.

"Hey, so how does it feel, huh?" Is what he was asked by the male teen who had wrapped his arm around him. "You went from being the worst student in the entire Junior Class to the best student, so do you feel proud of yourself or do you just not give a shit?"

At this, the former Jester player's expression changed to one of thought. In reality, he did feel a little proud of himself, but he didn't feel like he could take on the whole universe or anything like that.

"Eh, a little of both, I guess?" Was the response he gave to his friend who had finished his senior year. "Like, it feels good, and I feel like I had accomplished something, but I also feel like,"

He paused for a second to think about how to describe how he felt, but was unable to so his friend began to guess random feelings in an attempt to help.

"Worthless? Nothing? Like you wasted your entire school year doing nothing useful?"

"no, nothing of that sort." The former Jester player said as he got out of the embrace. "It's uh, it's hard to describe, okay?"

"Oh, so like a pussy." Was his friend's quick response with some snickers that eventually turned into full-blown laughter. He had found what he said to be golden.

Meanwhile, the former Jester player didn't say anything, but his expression did change to a slightly disgusted one, which didn't go unnoticed.

"Hey, why are you giving me that look? We're both guys here, are we not?" Is what his senior asked him upon seeing the expression. "I like pussy, you like pussy, so why you give me that face?"

"Because that was very vulgar of you and something I honestly didn't want to hear." He told him with a tiny bit of irritation in his voice.

"Eh, you're a young man, you'll live." His senior affirmed with a pat on the back before taking out his phone and unlocking it.

The former Jester didn't say anything in response, and simply made his way home, thus ending their conversation.

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Upon arriving, and entering his family's home through the foyer, the former Jester's nose was greeted by a wonderful smell. He wasn't exactly sure what was being made, but he knew one thing, it smelled delicious.

"Hmm, it smells like steak," He said to himself in a low tone before inhaling through his nose and taking off his backpack.

"asparagus," He then said before breathing in for a second time through his nose as he walked over to the large double door cabinet that was up against the wall and not far from the door.

"french fries," He continued before smelling once again through his nose and setting his backpack down against the large cabinet.

"and I think, biscuits?" He finished with traces of uncertainty in his voice. It was hard to pick up the smell of biscuits through all the other food, but he was pretty sure someone was making biscuits as well.

Wanting to know for sure what was being made, he made his way to the kitchen through the dining room where his mother's Chinese cabinet was located, and called out to his mom.

"What are we making?" Is what he asked a second or two before entering the kitchen and being welcomed to the sight of his mother who had turned around upon hearing his

"Dinner." Was the response he received before she turned around to focus on the steak she was cooking with the indoor grill. "Your father said he wasn't going to be home until ten, so he told me not to wait on him. Now hurry up and set the table, dinner is going to be done soon."

"Alrighty then." He affirmed before moving past his mother and opening up a kitchen drawer that had a bunch of silverware in it. "How many of us will be eating?" As he asked her this, he looked at her.

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"Three, you, me, and your brother." She told him as she cast him a quick glance. "Also, when you're done with setting the table can you go tell your brother dinner is almost ready, and then can you pour me a small glass of milk?"

"Sure." He answered with a small nod of his head after getting three knives, and three forks from the silverware drawer and closing it.

"Thank you." She said aloud with a small smile.

"Mmm, no problem." He hummed in response before setting the silverware down and then entering the kitchen again to get the plates.

Once he was done setting the table, the former Jester made his way to the basement where his younger brother's room was located.

Originally, his older sister lived down in the basement, but after moving out, his younger brother decided to move down into the basement, which was understandable in a way, for he was a gamer and at night he could sometimes be a little loud. In fact, he could be too loud, which would then result in waking up his parents, for their bedroom was right next to his old one.

After entering the computer room, which had now became a place to store random stuff, the former Jester walked down a hallway that had two doors in it. There was a door at the end of it, which was his brother's room, and then a door next to it, which was the bathroom.

The door at the end of the hallway had a sign on it that said in all caps. "KNOCK AND RECEIVE PERMISSION BEFORE ENTERING PLEASE!"

He could hear some shouting coming from the room, but it was somewhat muffled so it was hard to make out what was being said, but as he got closer and closer to the door the shouts became more and more clearer.

"Oh my god, dude fucking help me! Fuck! This guy is fucking throwing! All because someone told him to be quiet, what a fucking asshole!"

Hearing this caused the former Jester player frown, and made him want to tell his younger brother to tone it down on the cursing and yelling, but he held his tongue, and just knocked on the door.

A second passed, and he got no response.

Two seconds passed, and he still got no response.

Finally, three seconds passed, and he still got no response, so this time he knocked on the door a lot harder than before.

Upon him doing this, he got a response, but the tone he had received wasn't friendly at all, which made him frown even more.

"What!?" Is what he asked in what sounded like the most annoyed tone ever.

"Dinner is ready. Mom wanted me to tell you that, so come upstairs." He told his brother in a voice that wasn't loud enough to be considered yelling.

He got no response from his younger brother, and after several seconds hearing no signs of movement, he banged on the door.

"I said what!" His younger brother practically screamed, which made him furrow his brows and grab ahold of the doorknob.

He attempted to open the door, but was unsuccessful due to it being locked.

"Unlock the door, now." He demanded in an authoritative voice that sent a shiver down his little brother's spine.

"I-I can't." His brother told him in a shooken up voice. "I'm in the middle of a ranked game and-"

"I don't care, you don't talk to me like that, or our parents, understood?" He interrupted in a serious voice that held no traces of joking in it at all or playfulness.

"Yeah, okay." His brother affirmed, which caused him to relax.

"Alright, finish up your game, and then come upstairs immediately. In the meantime, I'll tell Mom you're in the middle of something, and that it won't be long before you come up." He said aloud before turning around and heading back down the hallway that led to the old computer room, not caring what his brother had to say in response to what he had told him.

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After having dinner with his brother and mother, the former Jester headed upstairs to his bedroom to watch some Netflix, but stopped in the hallway due to his phone going off.

Wondering who was texting him, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw a notification.

Hey, it's been a while, and I know you told me you were done, but I think you should come back to the game. It's-

He didn't have to read anymore to know who it was texting him. It was an old friend, one of the only people on Exelcia Online he had given out his phone number to.

He didn't unlock his phone to respond, but his attention did divert to the room where his capsule resided in. It was only for a fleeting second, but he had nonetheless looked at the door.

"Now that I think about it, it really has been a while, since I've played a multiplayer game." He said aloud as the phone's screen turned off.

He didn't give up playing video games entirely, but after losing in the Finals of Exelcia Online, he had pretty much given up on playing multiplayer games in general and just played single-player games only.

With the memories of all the good times he had in Exelcia Online coming back to him, he couldn't help from smiling. The game was very fun, and while he tried not to hear about it this past year, he couldn't help from hearing about it a lot at school, for it was a very successful game and one of a kind at that.

Sure, the thing you need to play it cost a lot of money, but in the end, it was worth it, and there was nothing in this world that could change his mind on that.

Keeping the smile he had on his face on, he pressed the power button on his phone, and unlocked it to respond to the text.

"I'll think about it, but no promises." Is what he said out loud as he typed up his response and then sent it.

After that was said and done, he turned his phone off and went to his bedroom to start doing some research, for if he was going to be returning then he needed to know what has changed since he last played.

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Time flew by, and after three days of researching, and two days of updating, he was ready to make his return to Exelcia Online.

Was he a little nervous? Obviously, he was a legend and still is to this day. He wasn't aware of this, but apparently not long after he quit the game did a lot of players create new characters and attempt to copy his build. Of course, there were some who had managed to do so, but he didn't know about this, for when he first quit anything that had something to do with Exelcia Online he paid no attention at all.

If he heard someone mention the game, he ignored them and whatever he heard them say about the game was purged from his memory. Once again though, this was when he first quit the game, and when he was the main talk. Nowadays, he is just someone who would occasionally get brought up in a conversation.

"Alright, I think I'm ready." He said aloud before entering the capsule and having it close on him. As this was going on, he put on his headgear, and it wasn't long after he was doing so his eyes were greeted by a message.

Connect to Exelcia Online?

Yes. | No.

He didn't do anything at first, instead he just stared at the message, but eventually, he made his choice.

"Yes." He said aloud in a clear and audible voice.