The second the scream pierced the air, Victor rushed towards its source, leaving Lizbeth behind in the office. It was coming from the room where his former comrades were being held captive.
Upon reaching the room, Victor immediately identified the source of the scream as the new servant girl, Rosalie, standing petrified at the entrance to the room. Coincidentally, Victor had forbidden the players from going up to the fifth floor, and the very late hour meant much of the player base was offline, minimizing any unwanted disturbances.
“Ahem. What’s going on here?” Victor inquired, his voice calm but authoritative.
“He… He!” Rosalie stammered, her body trembling uncontrollably as she pointed at something in the room, as if she was completely frightened by what she saw inside.
Victor’s gaze shifted to the person she pointed to and found out that it was Jared, and then a sudden realization struck him. Now that I think about it, the old village head said that he almost couldn’t protect her. Does it have something to do with this prick?
“Calm yourself. He’s no longer the person he was,” Victor reassured her.
Rosalie turned at Victor with a mixture of anxiety and confusion.
“Listen to me,” Victor continued in a calm tone as he walked into the room. “Jared is under a spell — a control that binds his will to mine. What you see now is not the man himself, but a shell guided by what I’ve compelled him to be.”
As if to confirm Victor’s words, Jared dropped to his knees in front of them with a blank expression. Victor even slapped Jared’s face a few times to show her that the once-threatening man was totally under his control and would no longer be able to do the horrible things that he used to do.
“You’re a servant here, so you have to familiarize yourself with the place and the people,” Victor instructed firmly. “Now go back to your duties.”
“Yes, Sir Astralium!” Rosalie responded, her voice trembling slightly as she tried to compose herself. However, despite having watched the unsettling scene, Victor noted a subtle shift in her demeanor. She seemed less frightened than she was initially, which surprised him.
While shaking his head, Victor turned and made his way back to his office.
***
Jacky lay in the sterile hospital room…
With a tired demeanor, he turned to the executor, who had just helped him finalize the necessary paperwork for his inheritance. “It’s done then,” he said. The executor nodded, offering a small, sympathetic smile before exiting the room, leaving Jacky to his thoughts.
Cyber had stressed the importance of making his passing appear natural, not linked to the gaming capsule, and he got that taken care of by showing symptoms of dying. Jacky glanced toward the sleek-looking machine in question. A month had passed since his first use of the capsule, and now the time had come for his consciousness to transcend the confines of his failing body.
“Nurse, help me get into the machine…” Jacky’s voice was weak but determined as he made the request. The nurse, though visibly puzzled and concerned, complied without hesitation, as she was used to this request. She thus quickly helped him into the capsule without asking a single question.
No more hospitals, no more pain… The idea was becoming more appealing with each labored breath. Jacky had made the necessary arrangements with Cyber beforehand; the next time he entered the game, the mind-uploading process would take place.
As the lid of the capsule closed, sealing him off from the world of illness and mortality, Jacky felt a strange sense of calm wash over him.
“Let’s go somewhere far today…” he whispered a soliloquy as the virtual interface sparked to life around him. In an instant, the room, the hospital, and his frail body then faded away, replaced by boundless landscapes and endless possibilities. In this place, he could finally find the freedom he had longed for.
Standing in the clearing where the academy stood, Jacky reveled in the vibrant scene that surrounded him, filling his young, healthy eyes. The wind tousled his hair, the grass beneath his feet danced in the breeze. He felt a surge of vitality coursing through his body, as if he were reborn to explore and conquer the world.
Until recently, I was lying in a hospital bed, thinking of giving up on everything. Jacky gazed at the expansive blue sky adorned with billowing clouds. The sight was so captivating; he felt as though he could almost reach out and touch them. Ah, why is this happening? I feel like laughing and crying at the same time.
Unbeknownst to him, tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, a mix of overwhelming emotions flooding his senses. To be granted a second chance at life in another world was like a dream come true, and Jacky was determined not to squander this opportunity to become the best version of himself.
Suddenly, a tap on his shoulder and a familiar voice broke through his reverie. “Yo, Thunder, where have you been the past few days?” Jacky turned to see Locktekei, his closest friend in the game, standing beside him.
Stolen novel; please report.
“There have been a lot of changes lately, like the village being fully under our protection, and the first dormitory that you helped design with the others being completed.” Locktekei continued, but then his expression turned into shock as he noticed Jacky’s tear-streaked face. “Hey, are you okay? Why are you crying?”
“Crying?” Jacky quickly wiped away the tears and forced a smile. “No, no, I was just… washing my eyelashes.”
Locktekei raised an eyebrow but didn’t say a word more. “Alright, whatever you say, bro. Let’s go on a mission to hunt magical beasts in the new ravine mine.”
“Yes. Let us.” Jacky nodded, his spirits lifting as he fully embraced the second life that was given to him.
***
In the opulent living room of a sprawling villa, bathed in the golden hues of the afternoon sun, a middle-aged lady sat perched on an ornate velvet sofa. She had just received the news of her husband’s sudden demise. Eagerly, she scrolled through the digital copy of the will on her tablet, her young, handsome boyfriend hovering anxiously over her shoulder.
“Here it comes, this is it,” she murmured, her voice thick with anticipation. After bearing her bedridden husband for thirty years, she finally got what she wanted. Each clause she read seemed to bring her closer to the vast inheritance she had long envisioned. Finally, she reached the section detailing the distribution of assets. She read aloud, expecting her name to appear, “…and to the cause that I find worthy, I bequeath all my worldly possessions.”
“What?! This can’t be right!” she yelped, her voice pitching higher with each word. She frantically swiped through the document, hoping to find her name in some overlooked section.
Her boyfriend, with an anxious expression on his face, asked, “Isn’t there anything for us? Maybe some mistake?”
“No, nothing! Absolutely nothing for me!” She threw the tablet down on the lush Persian carpet in frustration. “He’s left everything to some bogus company! After all I’ve put up with!”
The boyfriend took a cautious step back, his body trembling ever so slightly as he watched her crumble. “So, what are we going to do now?” he inquired with a shaky voice.
She looked up at him, her eyes cold and sharp. “We? There is no ‘we’ in this, darling. You were just a part of the good life with Jacky’s money!” she snapped, her reality crashing down around her. As she glanced around the luxurious room, every opulent detail seemed to mock her now. The realization that her lavish lifestyle was over was sinking in, and with it, the understanding that her plans — and perhaps her relationship — were as bankrupt as she was.
Following the realization was a scream that could be heard a kilometer away.
***
Six days had flown by since Victor imbibed the elixir, and the academy was abuzz with activity as new buildings sprouted up across the campus. Among them, the first dormitory had been finally completed, placed to the south between the Headmaster’s Building and the Nexus Tower — a spacious structure capable of housing up to one hundred individuals, each with their own private room.
It was constructed so fast thanks to the growing number of true acolytes popping out left and right. It was quite a simple building though, despite being designed by students majoring in the field. After all, it was mostly constructed from bricks coated with cement except for some special rooms that used elemental marble instead. Perhaps Victor should search for real professionals in the field to join his “game” to enhance the aesthetic appeal of future constructions; he would contact Auralise for this. For now, practicality took precedence over aesthetics, as the immediate need for accommodation outweighed any concerns for visual appeal.
However, given the limited number of rooms available, Victor decided to prioritize Initiate Attunement players for lodging. Of course, it wouldn’t be for free. Better accommodation meant an equal value of rent for it, with a daily charge of fifty merit points for those seeking to reside in the dormitory. The price might sound quite steep, but the people who were given the privilege were already rich, earning hundreds of merit points each day. If they refused to move, well, Victor wouldn’t force them. He wasn’t that unreasonable, after all.
Incidentally, one of the players, Prominence, was on the verge of breaking through. Being one of the first players in the game, his rate of progression was naturally the fastest. He could expect that he would achieve the status of second-stage Initiate Attunement by tomorrow.
“Hmm, maybe I should have considered building a staff dormitory as well,” Victor murmured, rubbing his temple in contemplation. While the current rooms on the fifth floor of the Headmaster’s Building sufficed for the time being, it wouldn’t be practical to accommodate a growing staff on a single floor in the long run.
Furthermore, all sorts of problems would arise without careful management. Magi were inherently experimental beings, requiring personal laboratories and lodgings to refine their craft. This was a fundamental aspect of any reputable academy, regardless of its size. Otherwise, not even the most desperate Magus would be willing to join.
In addition to the dormitory, there were several small structures situated to the southwest, where the academy’s industrial activities were housed. Victor envisioned establishing various industries within the academy grounds, operated and managed by the players themselves. Perhaps something akin to student workshops found in universities, where both he and the players could benefit financially and otherwise. This initiative would be earmarked for inclusion in the next update that he would do posthaste, but before that…
[Mission Accomplished!]
[Congratulations on passing the mission. You and your players have reinforced the wall with bricks and cement and further reinforced it with concrete.]
[The reward (20 progression value points) has been issued.]
[Mission Accomplished!]
[Congratulations on passing the mission. You and your players have constructed a fully functional student dormitory.]
[The reward (20 progression value points) has been issued.]
[Congratulations, the academy grade has leveled up to level 3!]
[Requirement for total acolytes and progression value point have expanded to 500.]
[An additional requirement for the next academy grade has been added.]
[Alchemical Hall is now available.]
[Nexus Tower has leveled up to level 2.]
[It is now possible to set a 2:1 time dilation between Seraphia and Earth.]